Neville Longbottom, Hogwarts Champion
by PhoenixWild25236
Summary: With Dumbledore dead and Harry, Ron, and Hermione off finishing his work, Neville quickly realizes that Hogwarts needs a champion to replace Harry. When he goes to find the right student to lead the charge, though, the students of Hogwarts select the one person he knew would be least qualified: him. Neville centric and follows the books with a few artistic liberties.
1. Chapter 1, Hogwarts Express

Note to those who are following the posts: Sorry for the confusion, I'm just editing some grammatical mistakes from past chapters and fixing some character mistakes (like in Chapter 2, I originally had Cormac McLaggen in the story but he's actually a year ahead of Harry and shouldn't even be at Hogwarts).

For all who are new, I hope you'll enjoy the story as much as I enjoy writing it. It really starts to pick up around Chapter 7, so if you can make it to then you won't be disappointed!

* * *

Neville glanced around nervously after passing through the barrier leading to the Hogwarts Express. There were students everywhere, and yet the crowd seemed smaller than usual. Most students had their heads down, looking up only to lift their trunks or to talk to parents who stayed unusually close to their children this year. He searched the crowd and smiled when he spotted a girl with dangling radish earrings entering the train. Before he could step forward, though, a hand was placed on his shoulder.

"Neville," his gran started, "this year will be different. Don't forget what we talked about this morning." She looked as though she wanted to say more, but instead gave a sideways glance at the two death eaters standing at the edge of the barrier, looking bored and eager to pick a fight.

He sighed, remembering the conversation with his gran. Since joining Dumbledore's Army, he had finally earned the respect of his grandmother, but that still didn't stop the lectures on honoring the family name and living up to his Gryffindor heritage. Despite her rough exterior, though, Neville knew his gran was just trying to show her love in the way she knew best.

"Gran, don't worry, Hogwarts has always had Harry to defend the school." He smiled at her. "I also have some really great friends that will look out for me."

She nodded, gave the faintest of smiles, and wished him well before turning to the barrier. He also turned and, heaving his large trunk, boarded the scarlet train. Just like every year, he paused at the front. This year he was relieved because this year it wasn't a question of where to sit like it had been in years past, it was a question of where to find his friends. Typically Harry, Ron, and Hermione sat near the back, though Ron and Hermione would probably be at the front with the rest of the prefects. Still, with Ginny and Harry as a couple, and with Ginny and Luna being friends, he was sure there'd still be a spot for him without being a third wheel. He walked down the train, glancing in compartments, nodding at former DA members and ducking out quickly when he discovered a nest of Slytherins.

Just as he suspected, he found Ginny and Luna near the back of the train. He quickly stepped in to smiling faces.

"Neville! Took you long enough," Ginny said. "Did Trevor escape like he always does on the train?" With a start, Neville patted down his pockets, feeling a nice size lump in his pant pocket. With wide eyes he pulled out his toad. For the first time since attending Hogwarts, Trevor hadn't escaped.

"No, I guess he's right here. My gran wanted to talk to me before we left." Neville replied. He glanced around and the realization hit him: Harry was no where to be seen. He glanced from Ginny, to Luna, then back to Ginny with a confused look. Before he could say anything, Ginny turned to look out the window, even though all she could see was rain falling down the window pane.

Luna piped up, "Harry isn't here. Neither is Ron or Hermione." Ginny still refused to make eye contact even though Neville looked straight to her for an answer.

"What do you mean, not here? Where are they? I know we're of age, but what do they plan to do?"

Luna looked at him as though the answer was obvious. "Harry has to face You-know-who." Ginny stiffened. "It'd be hard to prepare for that with Professor Snape as headmaster."

Neville looked once again at Ginny sitting even more rigidly in her seat. Her hair was covering most of her face, but her eyes were cold and hardened. It was as if she refused to betray any emotions whatsoever. The silence was thick in the air, but that seemed to be the mood wherever Neville went these days. He sat down next to Luna, shuffling his feet awkwardly. Luna picked up her copy of The Quibbler and began reading the magazine. Ginny continued to look out the window, her face void of expression.

Luna finally broke the silence. "So, what are we going to do this year?" Both Ginny and Neville turned to her.

"What do you mean, 'do this year'?" Ginny responded.

"The DA. What are we going to do this year? Our first year was taking down Umbridge, last year was the battle in the astronomy tower, so what about this year?"

"Well, as we're missing Harry, I don't think anything is going to happen. He was the one who always knew what was going on," replied Ginny.

"Ginny, you know something, right? I mean, you are dating Harry, so he probably let you in on his plans," Neville said. Ginny tensed and looked back at the window. Neville was about to ask another question, but Luna caught his eye and shook her head against the idea.

"Harry…. Harry broke up with me at Dumbledore's funeral." She paused, took a breath, and went on. "I knew it was coming. Harry barely lets Ron and Hermione get close when things like this happen and I know he won't rest until he stops You-know-who. That doesn't make any of it easier, though. After Bill and Fleur's wedding, I thought we would have heard something, or at least I would have heard something, but there's nothing. I guess no news is good news since You-know-who would publicize Harry's death, but still…. I wish there was something, anything, we could do to help."

"Even if Harry is gone, that doesn't mean the three of us can't come up with a plan to help protect Hogwarts," Luna responded. "We're a part of the DA, too."

Neville smiled. "Luna's right. We may not know what's going on outside of Hogwarts, but we can always make sure things are ok for when Harry, Ron, and Hermione do return."

"Do you really think they'll come back to Hogwarts?" Ginny asked.

"They always do. Harry would never abandon Hogwarts" Neville responded. "So, what should the plan be?"

All three paused, noting the train slowing down and not sure what to plan for. Ginny finally looked up and said, "Let's wait and see what Snape says. I bet there are going to be a lot of changes this year at Hogwarts."

They all nodded and stood up. They put their cloaks on in silence and got of the train, bracing themselves for the unknown.


	2. Chapter 2, Beginning of Term Feast

After a short carriage ride where Neville, Ginny, and Luna debated on how greasy Snape's hair would be now that he was headmaster and created the rules, they walked into the Great Hall and Ginny and Neville sat at the longest table farthest from the door (Luna drifted her way over to the Ravenclaws). Unlike previous years, the Great Hall felt a little empty, especially for Neville. Glancing down the table, he realized the only people from his year were himself, Lavender, Parvati, and Seamus, only half of their original group. Neville turned to Seamus, who was sitting across the table looking particularly glum.

"Where's Dean?" he responded.

"Muggle-born, remember? With the Muggle-Born Registry and the proof of blood status required for all Hogwarts students instated in August, Dean decided to take his chances on the run. He was going to register until he found out the Umbridge was in charge. He panicked and left before they could find him and told his parents to skip town, too." Seamus looked around the hall. "Turns out he's not the only one with that plan. Where's Harry and Ron? They're not muggle-born, so what do they have to worry about?"

"Errr…" Neville stumbled, looking at Ginny for help. She simply shook her head in and sighed, knowing this would be a question she would be answering for the next week.

"Do you really think our wonderful headmaster would have welcomed Harry back with open arms? We all know how well that relationship went. And when does Harry go anywhere without Ron and Hermione?" Ginny replied.

"You've got a point," Seamus admitted. "At least we don't have to have any classes with Snape."

"Yeah, but did you read about the two replacements?" Neville said. "The Carrows. My gran was pissed when she read the article and called them… well, names she wouldn't normally use if she had remembered I was in the room with her."

"Do you know anything about them?"

Neville shook his head. "No. The kindest words gran used were 'low life weasel thugs,' and the rest isn't something I'd want Professor McGonagall overhearing."

"I'm sure she'd have a few words to add, knowing McGonagall," Ginny quipped.

"Not in front of Snape," Seamus whispered darkly. "The students aren't the only ones under close watch this year."

The three of them looked up at the staff. Snape sat in Dumbledore's chair, surveying the students and bearing a mild look of disdain. To the left of Snape was the Carrow brother, Amycus, the new Defense Against the Dark Arts Teacher. To the right of Snape was empty, to be filled the Carrow sister, Alecto. Professor McGonagall had been banished to the end of the table, though she didn't seem to mind not having to sit next to either Carrow sibling. Hagrid sat next to Amycus, back completely turned to the brother and almost seemed to be shielding tiny Flitwick and the rest of the staff from having any contact with the death eater.

At the front was a plain stool and the patched Sorting Hat looking as though they had been waiting all day for the evening. Before long the doors opened and a nasty looking witch was giving quiet but sharp orders for the first years to line up at the front. They stood there with terrified looks, glancing from side to side to see what the others were doing. Before long, the hat's brim opened wide, beginning its yearly tradition:

"Once again we gather round

The houses to be sorted

And yet I again I have to wonder

If this leaves our goal distorted

For long ago our founders four

Sought out those above exalt

To teach them all they knew

And mend their every fault

Yet vice exists in diverse ways,

Just as virtues can be found

Each founder had their favored traits

Selecting pupils whose qualities abound

For Ravenclaw, wit beyond measure

Was her greatest treasure

She selected students clever and bright

Those of academic splendor

For Slytherin, his eye on nobility

Preferred those with well known names

He selected students with a cunning mind

Eager to increase their wealth and fame

For Gryffindor, courage and chivalry

Defined his daily life

He selected students bold and true

On whom others can rely

For Hufflepuff, she often said

Talent was in need of discipline

She selected those ready to work

Giving more than the just minimum

Satisfied with their criteria

They knew just what to do

They gave me all their intelligence

So I could uphold their point of view

But once again I have to wonder

If this leaves our goal distorted

For every one of you could succeed

Wherever you would be sorted

Though I must divide you, still remember

You share a common goal

Learn from your virtues, turn from your vices

Together you can change the world."

Everyone clapped at the end and the witch who had lead the first years stood up to the front. Quickly the clapping died out as pulled out a piece of parchment, the names of the first years. She barked out each name menacingly, scaring each first year more than they already were. The group was much smaller this year than in years past. Hufflepuff seemed to get significantly fewer students this year with only four new students, whereas Slytherin seemed to dominate. Gryffindor and Ravenclaw, however, managed to bring in a respectable amount of students. After the final student had been sorted (Arlo Vance, Ravenclaw), Snape stood up to speak.

"Once again we find ourselves at the beginning of the school year. Before we begin the feast, there are several changes to the school that need to be addressed. First and foremost, we have two new teachers with us. Alecto Carrow," he gestured to the woman at his right, "will be filling the position of Muggle Studies. Muggle Studies will be considered a core subject and will be mandatory for all students enrolled, as it is important for you to understand our true relationship to the muggles." There were whispers amongst the students at this statement, and a few cold looks from several of the staff members.

Snape pressed on with his speech, undeterred by the interruption. "Amycus Carrow," he motioned to his left, "will be teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts. However, the name of this course has been long mischaracterized, and so it has been decided that the course will referred to as the Dark Arts." Neville heard a snort farther down the table and noticed Nigel Wolpert, a fifth year, was looking at the new headmaster mutinously.

Snape turned to Nigel and said in a low, cold voice meant for everyone, "You would be advised to do well in each of their courses as they are also sharing the responsibilities of deputy headmaster and headmistress. Alecto will be in responsible for student relations, including managing prefects and the head boy and girl, while Amycus will be responsible for all discipline."

Neville's eyes grew wide with the news and glanced around, just as everyone else was doing. Snape had already moved on with the rest of his speech, but he doubted that any heard the rest of what his was saying. He looked at Ginny sitting next to him, and an understanding passed between the two of them. Hogwarts needed the DA now more than ever; working together with Luna was a top priority.


	3. Chapter 3: Head Girl

I'm glad to see this story's interesting for others! Thanks to everyone who has followed or favorited the story so far, it makes writing more fun. Just so you know, reviews and comments are always welcome. Also, feel free to suggest any side characters (student wise) that might prove interesting. Obviously this follows Neville and will lean heavily on Luna and Ginny as they are the "ring-leaders," but I do have plans for other DA members to be featured. My problem is that I haven't decided who in the DA will be prominent characters (other than Hannah Abbot, because you know, the whole she and Neville get married thing; and Ernie MacMillan, but that's just because I've always been a little partial to him). I'll take requests through the next few chapters, so tell me who you want to see and why.

Enjoy!

* * *

Now that Ginny, Neville, and Luna were all NEWT students, they had a fair amount of overlapping free time that might not have been available otherwise. Ginny, remembering how much studying Neville needed to keep up with the coursework during his sixth year, suggested they meet together quickly before homework caught up with them. And so on the second day of classes Neville found himself sitting in a particularly quiet corner of the courtyard, watching the students walk by as he waited for Ginny and Luna. A group of first year Hufflepuffs were chatting excitedly as they headed down to their first Herbology class. There were several fifth year girls across the courtyard pretending to study that were secretly rating the boys who walked by on how cute they were. As he looked toward the entrance, he spotted Ginny and Luna chatting amiably and heading his way.

"Hi Ginny! Hi Luna!" Neville called out. They smiled and headed straight to Neville's corner.

"Hey, Neville. We just got out of Potions with Slughorn. Luna won a bottle of Felix Felicis, though I gave her a run for her money. Those potions he brewed for us were pretty amazing." Ginny said, looking at Luna.

Luna gazed past the two of them, with a look that somehow managed to be dreamy and focused in a way only Luna could manage. "Perhaps now Professor Slughorn will help me make the Caecus Inimicus potion this year since I proved I can make his potions."

Neville furrowed his brow. "What is that?"

Luna smiled. "It's a potion that makes you invisible to anyone you don't like. Daddy is close to getting the ingredients just right, but Professor Slughorn could help the process go much faster."

Neville looked dumbfounded and responded, "I've never heard of that Potion before." Ginny had a dubious look on her face. "Then again," Neville continued, "Potions isn't really my strong point."

Ginny giggled. "You can say that again. It's a good thing Potions isn't a required course past fifth year."

Neville waved her off. "There are lots of wizards and witches who aren't good at Potions. Besides, last year I got the highest marks in Herbology, so I'm good at something. Professor Sprout told me in confidence that I even beat out Hermione for the first time."

Ginny and Luna looked impressed. "Don't tell that to Hermione," Ginny replied.

"I doubt I'll get the chance to do mention it anytime soon," Neville said. "I wonder where she and Harry and Ron are now."

"They were at the Ministry of Magic," Luna responded absentmindedly. "Though they probably went somewhere else by now." Both Neville and Luna held a look of shock on their face.

"Luna, how could you know where they are?" Ginny demanded. "On the train you told me you hadn't had any contact with anyone except Neville over the summer."

Luna faced Ginny. "That's true. Maria Glossop handed me the Daily Prophet this morning. I don't like reading the Daily Prophet, but Maria noticed it had a special coupon for Bertie Bott's Every Flavored Beans. She knows I like the pumpkin spice beans and I'm always looking for them." Luna reached in her bag and pulled out the paper. "The front article talked about a robbery at the Ministry." She handed them the paper.

The headline screamed in all caps, "MINISTRY BREAK IN: NO NAMES IDENTIFIED IN SEARCH"

Neville skimmed the article. "Break in happened several days before in the office of the Muggle Born Registration Committee…. Dolores Umbridge specifically targeted… several items went missing from her office, including a Selwin family heirloom and records of suspected undesirables were tampered with… Umbridge and several others attacked while conducting interrogations of known muggle borns by a stag and otter patronus... No one specifically identified as invaders were using a Polyjuice potion to masquerade as Ministry employees…"

"Luna," Ginny spoke, refusing to look up from the article, "There's no mention of Harry, Ron, or Hermione in the article. They don't know who was at fault. How are you sure that they're the ones behind this?"

"The article mentions a stag and otter patronus attacking Umbridge." Luna responded. "I saw Harry produce a stag and Hermione produce an otter during our DA practices sessions."

Ginny broke out into a huge grin and hugged her. "Luna, you're a genius!"

Luna looked a little affronted, "Not a genius. But I am in Ravenclaw for a good reason."

"But what were they doing there?" Neville said, perplexed.

"Does it matter? We know they are safe because they broke in without being caught." Ginny looked as though she had overdone a cheering charm on herself.

All three jumped at the sound of approaching footsteps. A girl with a face like a pug leared at the three of them, a haughty expression lurking behind a mean smirk.

"Well well, what do we have here?" Pansy Parkinson. "A group of leftover blood traitors and mudbloods." All three turned to face her and Ginny crossed her arms defensively. Luna looked at her with mild interest, and Neville tried his best to look brave.

"Then again, look who I'm talking to, the cry-baby, the loony, and the slut," she continued. "You look a little lost without Potter and his gang, but I can see why he left you behind."

"And yet we manage to still have friends here at Hogwarts even though they're gone. I noticed Draco isn't around this year. I guess that means your list of friends went from one to zero." Ginny retorted without missing a beat. "Tell me, do you plan to buy your friends this year to replenish your list or will you simply bully them into liking you? You always seemed to favor a combination of the two."

Pansy's eye glared at Ginny menacingly. "You better watch your tongue this year, Weasley," she stated, turning so that the sun caught on the badge on her chest. She gave a sly smile as she watched the surprised reactions on their faces when they recognized the head girl badge. "Turns out I have a responsibility to keep things civil. If you let too much slip, I might just have to give you a detention to teach you a lesson. I'm sure Professor Carrow would be happy to give you some lessons on common courtesy."

Ginny bit back her response. "That's more like it," Pansy responded. "You know, I think I'm going to enjoy this year, even more so than our fifth year. You might be the leftover scraps, but you'll be good practice for post graduation life. Maybe I'll get the chance to practice my new found skills a few particular mudbloods, maybe Granger will even be around when my time comes." She turned and over her shoulder called, "See you around, losers."

Ginny was gritting her teeth so hard Neville though she might break a tooth. "Ginny," Neville said, touching her shoulder, "don't worry. We won't let her bully the other students."

"You better believe we won't," she snapped, eyes glaring in the direction where Pansy sauntered off. "I know just what to do." She then turned and began laying out the details of her plan to Neville and Luna.


	4. Chapter 4: Blibbering Humdinger

This one was a bit tricky but I'm thoroughly pleased with how it turned out. Enjoy!

* * *

Neville looked down the hallway to make sure that no one was likely to pass by his "study group session" in the empty classroom. Inside were Ernie MacMillan, Hannah Abbott, and Susan Bones talking amongst themselves. Neville closed the door and sat at a desk next to Susan and Ernie.

"Guys, thanks for coming," Neville said. All three smiled back at him. "Ginny, Luna and I have an idea, but we really have to get everyone on board to make it work."

"Are we starting up the DA again?" Susan asked excitedly. "Who's going to take charge and teach lessons again?"

"No," Neville responded hesitantly, "I mean, I'm not really sure. After all, Harry was the one to lead us, and he and Hermione and Ron are off doing, something. We're a part of the DA, and there are still things we can do together to help protect Hogwarts, but I don't know about having Defense lessons or anything like that."

"It sounds like we might need a few good lessons, though," Ernie replied, "with our DADA classes officially renamed Dark Arts. I can't believe the ministry is allowing us to take lessons from a death eater." All four paused, thinking about the implications of what Ernie had said. Neville finally broke the silence.

"I don't think the Carrows are the only ones we have to deal with." Neville went on to explain what had happened with Pansy Parkinson in the courtyard several days ago. "Normally I wouldn't worry about Pansy, but she and the head boy have the power to give detentions, which will put us all at the mercy of the Carrows on her whim."

Susan interrupted, "Who is the head boy, anyway? Pansy draws so much attention to herself I forgot to see who was with her at the feast."

Ernie gave a look that showed his disdain. "Blaise Zabini, that pretty boy Slytherin." Neville knew that Ernie had always hoped to be Head Boy.

Hannah gave a look of relief. "That's not so bad. Blaise may be a Slytherin, but he's better than someone like Draco Malfoy."

"What makes you say that?" Neville said. "I don't think he and I have ever spoken a word to each other."

Hannah looked at him with an unsure look, replied, "Blaise is, um, particular about whom he interacts with. The only reason he and I talked was because we had Charms together."

Susan nodded in agreement. "He always did sit beside you those first few years. Why?" Neville noted Ernie was leaning back in his chair, arms crossed, looking sour.

"Well, Blaise struggled in Charms at the beginning. He didn't want to ask anyone in Slytherin for help because they'd all look down on him. Draco assumed everyone could do well in Charms because it was such a wimpy subject in his mind and voiced his opinions particularly loudly. He and Pansy would gang up and tease anyone in Slytherin doing poorly in Charms according to Blaise. You know how it goes in Slytherin. He sat next to me because he noted I was doing pretty well and I sat in the back. We'd study together outside of class where I'd help him with the basics. We couldn't be seen together outside of class in the library or anything because I wasn't the type of person he'd normally be seen with and he had a reputation to uphold, thanks to his mom. But he always got away with sitting next to me in class because I sat in the back and he'd just pretend to show up late and act as though he only sat there because it was the last seat available. After our third year he started picking up the coursework faster, and so we spent less and less time together. He told me he wanted nothing to do with me after the end of the third year, and that was that." Hannah looked a little sad at the end of this.

"What kind of a person does that?" Neville responded.

"It makes sense," Hannah said. "For Blaise, it's all about keeping up pretenses and avoiding confrontations. Since I wasn't a pureblood or as pretty as other girls, spending time with me would cause other Slytherins to call him out and make him an obvious target for confrontation. He said our friendship, even though it meant something to him, wasn't worth the cost. So we went our separate ways." Susan put her hand on Hannah's shoulder while Ernie turned away from everyone, looking as though he knew all of this and was still quite irritated about it.

"Anyway, knowing this is good. Blaise may be head boy and a Slytherin, but he hates getting his hands dirty or becoming involved in a confrontation. Pansy may be eager to abuse her power to its full extent, but Blaise will always choose to back out of a situation as quickly as possible as long as he can preserve his Slytherin image in the process. I don't see Blaise causing too much trouble or coming to Pansy's defense unless he absolutely has to."

"So what's this plan you and Loony and Ginny..." Ernie stated loudly, looking annoyed and eager to change the subject from Blaise. Neville interrupted him immediately.

"Her name is Luna," he responded coldly, looking straight at Ernie.

Ernie puffed up in defense. "Look, everyone calls her that, it's just a nickname…"

"No, it's not just a nickname. Luna is far braver than you know. She may be in the Ravenclaw house, but she's proven that she has the heart of a Gryffindor and I'm tired of people not seeing her worth." They sat in silence for a moment, Neville continuing to stare down Ernie, who deflated a little bit and looked a bit sheepish in his seat. Hannah glanced from Neville, to Ernie, then back to Neville, realizing Neville wasn't going to continue unless prompted.

"Neville, go on, tell us about the plan."

"Look, we're going to have to depend on each to make it through this year. Bullying is only effective if we feel we're alone and vulnerable, and Pansy is talented at picking apart one person at a time. Our idea is to have a code word that will indicate to the people around them that they need help. The people who come will also start using the word so that others will hear, making it a large crowd that Pansy won't want to take on herself. She'll just get flustered and walk away."

The three of them looked mildly impressed with the idea. "What's the code word?" asked Susan.

Neville shuffled a little bit in his seat. "Blibbering Humdinger," he said quietly.

Hannah started giggling, Susan gave him a "you can't be serious" look, and Ernie blurted out, "What now?"

"Blibbering Humdinger," Neville said again, trying to be a little more confident. "Ginny has heard Luna talk about them and suggested it. Luna and Ginny think it'll work perfectly."

"So what is a…. What are they called? Blubbering Hundinkers?" Hannah asked between giggles.

"Blibbering Humdinger," Neville corrected her. "They are magical creatures that can do something ... I don't really remember, I wasn't around when Ginny asked what it was. You can ask Luna about it, she'll know."

Ernie looked a bit apprehensive. "Look, I'm all for standing up to the death eaters, but like this? You can't really believe someone is going to willing say blibbering humdinger when someone like Pansy is on the attack."

Neville started to say something, but Hannah spoke first. "But it can work, Ernie." Everyone turned to look at her.

"It's not just Gryffindors that are brave. Remember what the sorting hat said this year? We all could have done well in each of the houses, he just sorts us because he has to. The hat has been telling us for years that we need to stick together, and this will work if everyone believes they have attributes of all the houses, not just the one they belong to."

"Well, couldn't we pick a better code word?" Ernie replied.

"Actually, it's quite clever," Susan said. "Do you really see any of the Slytherins using it anytime soon?"

Ernie shook his head. "I guess not. But how's everyone going to know what to do?"

"We'll need everyone to spread the word around," Neville said. "But in small groups so that Pansy and the others won't know what's going on. I'm meeting with you guys since we take classes together, and Luna and Ginny are doing the same with people they know so it doesn't look like anything's out of the ordinary. Do you think you can spread the word around Hufflepuff and sell people on the idea?"

Hannah gave Neville a warm smile, "Of course we can." Susan and Ernie nodded in agreement. She then looked down at her watch. "Ernie, we've got to go. We have prefect duties in ten minutes." She stood up and walked to the door with Ernie close behind. Before she walked out, though, she turned and said, "Don't worry, you can count on us, Neville." Then she disappeared out the door and off to the rest of her day.

Susan turned to Neville. "You can count on me, too," she said. "Also, sorry about Ernie acting like a prat. He's usually very nice, he just gets a little touchy on the subject of Blaise."

Neville looked at her, confused. "Why? Is there something going on between him and Hannah?"

"Well," Susan started, not quite sure how much to divulge, "Ernie's always liked Hannah from day one. They've always been friends, but she's never been interested in him like that. Ernie got really jealous of Blaise those first few years and was really upset with how calloused Blaise acted towards Hannah after their third year. Anyway, they became really close after that. Every once in a while he tries to make a move on her, but she always draws the line at just friends."

"Do you know why she isn't interested in him?" Neville asked curiously.

"All I've ever gotten is that Ernie's a bit too much for her," said Susan. "Hannah and I aren't really all that close. I mean we're friends, but not like BFFs like Lavender and Parvati." She shrugged her shoulders as though to say that's all that she knew. Susan stood up, followed by Neville.

"I need to get going on my Ancient Runes homework. I'll see you around." And with a little wave, Susan walked out of the room. Neville followed her, hoping the plan would work

* * *

As it turned out, he didn't have long to wait. Three days had passed and even though everyone was excited for the weekend, the weather was not. The entire day had been a downpour of rain, drenching anyone who went outside in rain and mud. Neville was towards the Great Hall for lunch when he heard a shriek.

"How dare you?!" screamed Pansy, entangled in a pile on the floor with a small second year Hufflepuff. The second year must have just come from inside as he drenched from head to toe and Pansy had mud caked on her perfectly curled hair. Pansy pushed the boy to his face and then stood up, slipping slightly. "Running in the hall, dragging in the mud, what are you, a troll? I imagine trolls have better upbringing than you, look at yourself." She pointed to the frayed fringes of the boys robes. "How you even got in is a mystery to me, you stink of more than just mud from the outdoors," she said, sneering at the boy. He had his head bent low. By this time most everyone had watched, but no one seemed ready to intervene.

"My mum's a witch, right and proper," he said, still afraid to look up.

"Sounds like your dad isn't. Guess not every witch knows when to cross her legs," she judged, smiling as she noticed the boy was ready to cry.

"Blibbering…. Blibbering Humdinger," he whispered.

A scowl crossed Pansy's face. "What did you say to me?"

The boy looked around desperately. "Blibbering humdinger," he said for everyone to hear. No one moved except Neville.

Pansy looked at him as though he was an idiot, and then started laughing. "I know you look like a troll, but I didn't realize you were as dumb as one!"

By this time Neville was at the side of the boy, one hand on his shoulder. "Really, Pansy, I knew you never paid attention in Care of Magical Creatures, but I thought a pureblood like you could spot Blibbering Humdinger hanging out in the corner," Neville said, trying to be casual but really shaking inside.

Pansy looked around her, confused. "What are you talking about, Longbottom? It's not like you've ever passed a class without help from Granger I bet you're just making crap up."

"Pansy, I heard you were in charge of keeping things civil around here," replied Hannah, who had joined Neville on the other side of the Hufflepuff boy. "I thought our Head Girl would be a better example of proper wizarding stock and could recognize the Blibbering Humdinger." Neville looked at her in the corner of his eye and caught her give him the faintest of smiles.

Pansy started to look a little concerned, but still tried to keep her appearance haughty and knowing. "I suppose blood traitors and half bloods would buy into something so ridiculous as a creature that doesn't actually exist." She tried to look confident, but more people kept coming up, each specifically countering her belief in the blibbering humdinger. At first she tried to assert they didn't exist, then she tried denying that there was anything in the corner, but by this time a large crowd of thirty students from the various houses were standing beside the little Hufflepuff boy, who was no longer crying, but looking amazed at the people who had come to his rescue.

Pansy, getting more and more frustrated, finally shouted, "Detention! All of you! You can't act like this!"

"Act like what, Miss Parkinson?" questioned a stern woman with a commanding look.

Pansy turned to her, panicked and a little bit hysteric. "They act like they know better than me because of the Blibbering Humdinger in the corner!" She waved her hand over the crowd in front of her. "Every single one of them!"

"Miss Parkinson, you can't give people detentions for acting pretentious. You and I need to have a little chat about the rules of what a Head Girl can or can't do," Minerva Mcgonagall replied. She then turned out and stated calmly, "All of you, go back to your common rooms or classes. I will not have you holding up lessons any longer. Parkinson, meet me in my office, now." Pansy turned, looking miserable and started heading down the hallway. As the other students started to disperse, Neville heard a quiet voice pipe up, "Thank you, I didn't know what to do and Ernie told me about the humdinger."

Neville smiled. "We stick together or else we'll fall apart." As Neville turned, Mcgonagall called out, "Mister Longbottom." Neville froze on the spot, and everyone found a way to stall their exit, even Pansy.

"Five points for correctly identifying the Blibbering Humdinger." She said, smiling. She took off down the hall, nodding for Pansy to follow.


	5. Chapter 5: Sunset at the Lake

Ok, I really wanted to jump straight into a Carrow class for this chapter, but I felt like having two chapters challenging Neville back to back wouldn't help this develop the way I want to, plus I haven't really had a chance to establish Neville as a character in this story. Next chapter will be Neville's first Muggle Studies class, promise! Though it might take a little bit longer since it is an important story chapter and work is going to be the death of me until next Thursday (ugh, can't I just write for a living?).

Also, thank you to all who have encouraged me to keep going by writing reviews and following/favoriting the story. Nothing gets someone more excited to keep going than the support of others! Feel free to drop a line anytime and I'll do my best to get back to you.

* * *

The rain from Friday finally died out and the sun shone warm and brightly for the first time since their return to Hogwarts. Neville found his way down to the greenhouses most of the weekend, though admittedly he knew he should spend more time in the library studying. Even though they had worked through Pansy Parkinson situation, he realized he had it easy last week. The two days he was supposed to have the Carrows (Muggle Studies on Tuesday and Dark Arts on Thursday) they had cancelled classes. They assured everyone that the two of them and Snape had important meetings with the ministry but everyone knew that wasn't actually the case. Where they were off to, though, was a mystery to most everyone. Those two days had felt both relieving and tense at the same time. While everyone felt relaxed knowing they weren't under the eye of He-who-must-not-be-named's peons, you couldn't help but feel a bit of fear, wondering if something were to go horribly wrong on those days outside of Hogwarts.

Before he knew it, Sunday evening had come. He always felt a little anxious on Sunday evening ever since his first year mostly because going to classes had always been a struggle. Over the years his marks had improved, with the exception of Potions, and yet the anxiety over classes never seemed to go away. He did enjoy his NEWT classwork more than the core courses required during the first five years. Herbology and Charms had always been his favorite courses. With DADA, he had always enjoyed the course material, even when the worst teacher in existence, Professor Snape, was in charge. With Amycus Carrow in charge of the newly renamed Dark Arts class, he doubted he would enjoy this year any more than last year. He also had a new addition to his schedule, Muggle Studies, which he wasn't all too excited for. He had heard whispers from the other students about the two courses, comments which worried him more than usual on this particular Sunday evening. He suddenly suddenly found the common room too stifling and as there was still a fair bit of sunlight left in the day, he got up and made his ways to the grounds.

The sun was hovering over the trees of the forbidden forest. Fang was barking in the distance, probably chasing some of the very normal squirrels that happened to live right at the edge of the forest. Normally Neville would turn right at the entrance to head over to the greenhouses but this time he decided to turn left and head towards the lake. He walked slowly, lost in his thoughts. There was so much to think about: classes, Ginny and Luna's desire to restart the DA, looking out for the younger students, the war that was already in their midst. He wanted to do more, he wanted to help Harry and Ron and Hermione and the rest of the Order of the Phoenix but he always felt like he was at a loss whenever he thought about the war. It was the same feeling he got whenever he visit his mum and dad at the hospital. There was so much he wanted to do to help, but he was always overwhelmed by the idea of helping.

He found himself walking by the lake, lost in his thoughts and not really paying attention to where his feet were taking him. Not too far along the side of the lake, however, he saw something he didn't expect to see. One of the students, an older student by the looks of it, was sitting along the edge of the lake, hugging her knees with her head resting on her kneecaps, her gaze looking forlornly over the lake. Her hair was pulled back into braided pigtails. It took him a moment and a few more steps to realize that it was Hannah Abbott. Her signature pigtails gave her away, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to place her. Over the years he had interacted very little with Hannah. Prior to their fifth year, he had seen her around the school with her group of friends and on occasion they had worked at the same table during Herbology. Their fifth year he only really talked to her when they were paired together during DA lessons, and yet he had been so focused on learning the material that he didn't take much note of their conversations.

Yet here she was in front of him, looking, Neville was embarrassed to admit this, vulnerable. There was something about the way she was sitting that reminded him of how he felt whenever he thought about his life and what was expected of him. At first he turned to walk away so she could have her peace, but he thought about how she had been so supportive this last week. If there was anything he had learned from Harry, Ron, Hermione, Luna, and Ginny over the past several years, it was that we need friends during our good times and even more so during the hard times. He faced her again, but felt so awkward about the idea of striking up a conversation with someone he barely knew that he started to shuffle his feet. In the middle of his indecisiveness, he stepped on a twig that gave a rather loud snap, making Hannah jump and look around, startled. Neville gave a sheepish smile when Hannah spotted him. She gave a small smile back and motioned for him to come sit beside her.

"The sunset is the nicest it's been, isn't it?" Hannah said, breaking the silence.

"Sure is," Neville replied. He wasn't quite sure what to say next, so he simply sat there. Hannah continued to look across the lake.

"Neville," she said quietly, "you live with your Gran, right?"

Neville looked at her, a little puzzled. "Yeah, I do."

She finally turned to look at him with an almost desperate look on her face. "Does it get any easier? I mean, knowing that your parents won't be coming home like you want them to?"

Neville avoided her gaze and focused instead on the grass in between his shoes. "No, it really doesn't," he answered truthfully. "One day you find you have to make peace with the idea or let it drive you crazy with longing. Some days aren't so bad, and then other days will be a nightmare. But you keep going because you want to make sure their sacrifices were worth it in the long run."

Hannah's eyes started to glisten. "I miss her so much. My mum. She was the kindest person I knew and my best friend." Neville turned towards her and noted the tears beginning to fall. "She didn't even have any magical ability. She always wanted to be a nurse and was about to go to university when she met dad. They fell in love and got married. When she was pregnant with me, she was over the moon and decided to put her studies on hold so she could give the family all of her attention, especially when they realized they couldn't have any other kids after me. Even though she always talked about going back to school, she always seemed happiest when she was supporting me and Dad." Hannah shook her head, almost confused. "Of all the people, why her? She loved everyone and only wanted to help people. She wasn't a threat to anybody."

Neville went to put his arm around her, feeling more and more awkward with each passing moment. "They don't seem to have a set standard of who they target, or when," Neville said, slowly. "I mean, the first person was Cedric Diggory, and he was a pureblood. He just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. There's seems to be a good mix of every blood status as a target as long as those people don't fit within their ideal image."

He paused. "Hannah, it sounds like your mum was as good of a person as any. She represented everything good about this world. I think…" he paused, reaching for the right words, "the love of a parent is stronger than death could ever be."

Hannah pulled in closer, resting her head on Neville's shoulder. The sun was beginning to set over the lake, the sunlight glittering on the still waters. A few threstrals were flying together over the side of the lake, darting in and out of each other and looking like a pair of cats pouncing on each other for fun. If their conversation hadn't been so somber and if he knew Hannah a little better, Neville thought this would be a perfectly romantic moment. He shook his head, thinking himself rather silly for having such a notion.

Before he knew it, Hannah was sitting back up, wiping the tears off of her face. Neville quickly removed his arm, somewhat relieved to be back at a distance. He'd never really had anyone that close to him (mostly because no one ever seemed to want to be that close), and while a part of him enjoyed it, a part of him was glad the moment was done. Hannah gave a few more sniffles, as though she were trying to compose herself, and faced Neville.

"Thank you," she said with a weak smile. "Sometimes I forget that I'm not the only one who's parents died because of death eaters."

If Neville was uncomfortable before, he was extremely uncomfortable now. He forgot that most people assumed death eaters always kill off their targets and that few people, especially students, understand that death isn't always the end result of a death eater attack. How could he explain that his parents were locked away in St. Mungo's, incapable of the most basic human interaction? The only reason he knew his mother recognized him was because of the bubble gum wrappers she gave him, and those wrappers were the foundation of his belief that no matter what, the love of a parent can overcome anything. Hannah seemed to miss the look on Neville's face since she had already stood up and looked back at the castle.

"We probably should be heading back before it gets dark," she began, turning around to face Neville. "Last thing we both need is a detention for being out past curfew."

Neville took a deep breath and stood next to Hannah. They both headed towards the castle together, standing slightly apart and yet closer than he had ever stood to anyone else.


	6. Chapter 6: Muggle Studies

Oh man, what a chapter! Sorry it took so long, work is a beast right now (I'm pulling a fourteen hour day today, yay for me...). Anyway, I thought about making this a really long chapter, but I decided to break it into to and leave some suspense . I'll try and get the next chapter up in the next several days.

* * *

With the weekend behind them, Neville entered his second week of his last year at Hogwarts hardly believing how busy he already was. Every time he and Luna and Ginny got together to plan things for the DA they always ended up studying instead. Neville thought that maybe they should plan their next meeting outside of the library, and yet that immediate feeling of needing to do something to protect the students had waned. No one had gotten in any serious trouble, surprisingly, and having the Carrows and Snape out several days last week probably helped with the feeling that all was well. Monday passed uneventfully, as Neville's only class was Herbology in the afternoon (and a great way to start the week, in his opinion). Overall, Neville was feeling pretty good about himself, that is, until he got to Tuesday afternoon.

Neville hung around the common room waiting for Ginny so they could go to Muggle Studies together. Because there were so few sixth and seventh years, it was decided to have the two years together for this newly required course. Many of the Gryffindors had already made their towards a classroom on the east side of the castle. Neville kept glancing from the watch on his wrist to the staircase leading to the dormitories, wishing Ginny would appear. He knew the castle fairly well and rarely had a problem getting to class, but sometimes when Neville was rushed or completely lost in thought he would forget a trick staircase or, even worse, step into the bottom step and get stuck every time. Even though these instances happened fewer and fewer over the years, especially after the Battle of the Ministry, he still was incredibly embarrassed that he was known for such things. Finally Ginny raced down the steps and bounded over to him.

"So sorry, Neville," she said in a rush, "I just wanted to write down a few last minute notes for our latest Potions essay before I forget it." They both turned and walked out of the portrait into the hall. They didn't really speak as they were extremely late and were focused on making it to the classroom on time. Finally they came upon a rather ordinary room near the Charms corridor. When they went inside, the room was plain with the long drapes drawn over the windows, giving the room a dark and depressing feel. The walls were bare, and the lamps were lit not with a warm yellow flame, but a blue flame that seemed to bring cold into the room. It gave a feeling that the professor had no desire to be there, which was probably true, when Neville gave it more thought.

Alecto Carrow lounged about the front of the classroom, her feet up on the desk as though she couldn't give a care about where she was. Her robes appeared to be black like everyone else's, but with a closer look Neville realized they were actually the shade of dried blood. Between pudgy fingers she twirled her brittle wand. Her short, rust color hair was in an unattractive pixie cut and framed her flat face. Her nose was long and the only prominent feature, as it broad and flat and came down almost to her lips. Her tiny dark brown eyes sunk deep into her face. Neville gave her a look of dislike before looking around for an open seat. Everyone had filled up the rows in the back and the only available seats were those closer to the front. With a sigh he went and sat down in the third row, setting his bag down by his feet and his wand on his desk. Ginny took the seat next to him.

"Well well," Alecto said snidely, "the mighty Gryffindors have finally arrived at their first Muggle Studies lesson." She took her legs off the table, opened a drawer, and pulled out a piece of parchment. "As I'm supposed to take this seriously, we'll start with roll." She started out calling names and in turn each student simply nodded their head, refusing to speak with her. She paused once she got to Neville's name. "Longbottom, eh? Heard some nice comments from the Lestranges attached to that name…" She snickered. Neville's faced flushed, eyes narrowing, his legs tense. Ginny put her arm on his under the table to prevent Neville for reaching for his wand, and not a moment too soon. When she finished, she put the parchment back in the same drawer and her hand came back out with a bunch of frilly pink pamphlets laced with flowers and pictures of people who looked dumb as a brick. She stood out and began passing them amount among the students.

"I have found that there are no adequate textbooks on this subject matter, as all previous authors are known mudbloods, and so I had to go in last week to the ministry to request some updated materials for each of you. The head of the of the Muggle Born Registration Committee was more than willing to fulfill this request." Neville, along with several others, shuddered at the mention of Dolores Umbridge. "I'm sure she'll be willing to provide more of these the further we go into the year." By this time she had finished passing out the pamphlets and was heading back to the front.

"Go ahead and read for a good fifteen minutes, and then we'll have a little chat," she said without even turning to face the students. Neville gave a sideways glance at Ginny, who was already opening her leaflet, and then went back to his own. He open it with trepidation, knowing nothing good can be inside.

And he was right. "Muggles," he read, "are the unfortunate side effect of the magical community. Once contained in smaller groups, wizards and witches needed little to no contact with them in days gone by. It was hoped that they would simply destroy themselves thanks to their vicious and warlike tendencies. Unfortunately, they bred much faster than originally predicted, soon surpassing the number of witches and wizards around them. Highly superstitious due to their inability to comprehend the magical world around them, they began to target anything that was above their intellect. The witches and wizards still had little to fear about being caught as almost muggles none had the mental capacity to correctly identify a true individual with magical abilities. However, muggles could not be contained because of how rapidly they would breed amongst themselves." Neville couldn't believe what his was reading. "Those few muggles who did notice a local witch or wizard would steal his or her magic and impersonate actual witches or wizards, individuals which we now understand have led to the phenomenon of muggle born. If the muggle could not steal the person's magic, however, they would turn vicious and gather all muggles around it to torture the magical person captured."

By this time Neville couldn't handle anymore of the blatant and poorly written lies. He sat there, glaring at his sheet. A few side glances revealed most others were doing the same. Alecto, who had gone back to twirling her wand at her desk, finally caught on that no one was reading like they were supposed to. She gave a sigh, knowing this meant she had to teach. Taking her feet off the desk, she stood up and walked around the desk, her glare matching the looks on the students before her.

"Muggles," she began, "are simply a nuisance that we currently deal with." She reached behind and grabbed one of the leftover pamphlets and gazed at the cover. "Rather stupid looking, aren't they? Almost like cows with a temper." She then looked up from the paper in hand. "The real question is, what is the best way to deal with these types of… pest," she said, her words dripping with distaste. The room was deathly silent. Alecto looked at each student in the eye, waiting for someone to speak up. She finally stopped at Neville, who gritted his teeth and let a scowl form over his face.

"I'm surprised there isn't an ounce of creativity among the group, but you are noble Gryffindors," she sneered with a heavily sarcastic emphasis on the word noble. "I'm sure such concepts have yet to cross your little brains. Since I'll have answer my own question, I suppose there are many ways to handle this infestation of non-magical persons. You could create something like a natural disaster. Fires or floods would be a nice touch. Oh, fire could be highly interesting with a few dragons on the loose. Imagine the looks on those stupid muggles as they try and outrun a dragon breathing fire upon them." She practically giggled at the thought. "Or we could just look back at their own history. They have a habit of rounding up certain groups among themselves and then eliminating," she paused briefly, "undesirable traits."

Neville was gripping the desk hard, his knuckles white. Every word she spoke seemed to give him more reckless courage than he had ever felt in his life.

"And what are these undesirable traits, you may ask?" She glanced over the room. "I'm surprised none of you are taking notes, seeing as this course affects your grades and your final recommendations for post-school careers."

"Why should we take notes when those traits are right in front of us?" Neville spoke, not realizing he was speaking out loud until it was too late. Every head, including Alecto's, turned to him. She gave him a scathing look.

"True dominance, the characteristics meant for greatness, are determined by blood. It's time you realized that traits are inherited, and those of inferior birth can only and will only ever pass along inferior traits. No one will ever stand to defend those of lower order because they are of no worth to anyone with true wizarding blood."

There was a pause, and Alecto stared down the students as though daring one of them to speak out in retaliation. With a triumphant smirk, she turned around to get something from her desk. Neville took a deep breath in, bracing himself for the fight ahead.

"I will," he declared, standing up. "I will stand up for them." Alecto froze on the spot, then slowly turned to face him.

"You?" She said venomously. "What do you think you have to offer those inferior to the rest of us?"

Neville knew the time had come. He was scared out of his wits, but he knew that now was his time to make a stand, to show these Death Eaters what it meant to be the son of Alice and Frank Longbottom.

He spoke, sounding as a calm as a summer's morning. "I may not have the most to offer, but I have something, and that's a whole lot more than nothing."

Ginny leaped out of her sit. "Neville isn't alone. I will stand, too." Heads starting nodding, murmurs of agreement starting rippling through the class.

"You dare…" Alecto started, but was immediately drowned out, for Seamus stood up and shouted, "I will stand!" Alecto fumed and was about to say something when Lavender jumped up and yelled, "I will stand!" Parvati was immediately behind her, cheering and stating, "I will stand!" By this time, each Gryffindor was standing up shouting their support. Alecto tried to get a word in several times with no success. Each time someone stood up she became more hostile.

Finally Alecto screeched, "SILENCE!" The only reason it went silent, though, was because every student was already standing. She went straight towards Neville, her eyes locked on his, standing merely inches from his face (though having to look up to do so).

"Amycus and I will teach you what it means to take a stand," she hissed. "You want to be like your parents? Then it's time to feel exactly what they did. Tonight, 8:00 pm."

Neville went white. Before anyone could react, she turned and screeched, "Out of my classroom. NOW!" With this, everyone scampered to gather their things, wanting to be the first out. Neville stood there, frozen with fear. Ginny dumped all of his things haphazardly into his bag. Grabbing his hand, she pulled on him and whispered, "C'mon, Neville, now." Neville followed Ginny blindly out the door, leaving behind a teacher smiling maniacally at Neville's reaction.


	7. Chapter 7: Detention

Holy smokes, I didn't know this chapter would be so long if I had kept it as one! Now I'm glad I split it. Again, sorry for the delay, but this is the first chance I've had to sit and write since early last week. Hopefully the chapter will make up for it, it's twice as long as anything else I've written. Still nothing compared to the other fanfic I've been reading (NoahPhantom's Albus Potter series, it's practically it's own book! and then some), but maybe I'll get there by the end of it. Btw, totally recommend that fanfic, start with Albus Potter and the Global Revelation, it'll be worth your time.

Anyways, comments and reviews are always appreciated.

* * *

Ginny practically dragged Neville back to the common room, where all of the other upper class Gryffindors were waiting for him. They were all talking amongst themselves, quiet and nervous, until they caught sight of Neville. The room fell deathly silent. Neville looked like a wreck. The color on his face had yet to return and he wore an expression of disbelief mixed with terror.

Ginny guided him to an open seat. She was the only one who not only heard what Alecto had threatened but also knew the depth of that threat. "There's no way she can go through with it, Neville," she said passionately but quietly for only him to hear. "They might be death eaters, but they wouldn't want word getting out about these types of things."

Neville shook his head. "How can any of us know what might happen? Why wouldn't they use an Unforgivable Curse" He whispered back quickly, noticing people starting to come to his side. Ginny looked like she was about to respond, but he shook his head violently, his eyes pleading that she wouldn't bring up the details of what could happen for everyone to hear. Neville was not ready to confess what had actually happened to his parents, nor did he want others to know what Alecto's threat actually meant.

Lavender, Parvati, and Seamus were the first by his side. "Neville," Lavender said, "I can't believe that cow is giving you a detention for doing what's right." Parvati and Seamus shook their head in agreement. "Did she tell you what your punishment would be?" Neville bit his lip, not trusting himself to speak. He simply shook his head no, even if it was a blatant lie. Ginny looked like she would explode in anger, but held her tongue.

Seamus responded first. "I know the Carrows are in charge of punishment, but how far can they really take it? The last thing they'd want is to draw the ire of the parents and greater magical community."

Parvati responded back, "But they're _death eaters_. It's not like the ministry is going to intervene. Look at all of the recent policy changes, you can't tell me that You-Know-Who is not influencing the ministry. And even if that weren't the case, do you really think they'd have the time to come to Hogwarts and straighten things out with everything else going on?"

By the time the sixth years had made their way over. "But what about the teachers? You can't tell me McGonagall will allows something like this to happen, that's why no one's had a detention yet," said Demelza Robbins.

A rather quiet sixth year boy, Aldred Blackshaw, was the first to comment. "But Snape is headmaster and can't he overrule any of the complaints that the teachers may have?"

By this time, Neville felt as though the stress of the impending detention was going to overwhelm he. He clenched his fist, trying hard not to listen to the rampant conversation, but unable to tune them out since everyone was standing close to him. Ginny looked at him, full of concern. She finally spoke out above everyone else, "Neville, you can't seriously go to this detention. Talk to the teachers, they'll back you up."

This seemed to be the final straw for Neville. He burst up, forcing his way through the crowd unceremoniously and retreated up the staircase, leaving everyone to stare at his back with open, gaping mouths. No one knew what to do.

* * *

Neville paced the floor of his dormitory all afternoon and into the evening, unable to take his mind off of his detention. All he could recall were images of his parents at St. Mungo's over the years, never recovering but never deteriorating, merely existing. The tears had come and gone, and now he simply felt numb. How could he face this?

Ginny slipped into the dormitory, much to his surprise. Seamus was at dinner and since they were the only two left of their original group, Neville was alone.

"You can't be serious about going" Ginny started in a stubborn voice. "I think Demelza's right, you should go to McGonagall, you can't be treated like this."

Neville shook his head. "Ginny, I don't think there's a way out of this one. You've seen how the teachers have been treated in the last week and a half; their hands are tied. The death eaters are in charge."

"Then I'm coming with you," she said, defiantly. "You can't do this alone."

Neville paused and for the first time since hearing Alecto's threat in Muggle Studies, he felt something other than fear. "No," he said firmly. "I will face this."

Ginny looked angry at his response, waving emphatically. "Don't be like Harry, thinking you and only you can do this. We're in this together, you know that, please don't think you have to be the hero and having a saving people complex. Please. You don't have to be Harry." Her voice had an almost pleading tone at the end, a quiet desperation.

He looked out the window thoughtful. Could he be Harry? In his mind, he immediately thought no. Harry had faced He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named five times in the last seven years, probably more since the current school year. Harry always had taken a stand no matter how hard times were, no matter the rumors that spread. Neville couldn't figure out how he had the confidence to hold to his beliefs no matter how unpopular they were. Harry had even believed in him right from the beginning and that had been incredibly unpopular. During his first year, it had been Harry who had encouraged Ron and Hermione to help him strengthen his courage and self confidence. When everyone else had thought the Sorting Hat had made a mistake (including himself), Harry never doubted why he was in Gryffindor, and that made all the difference.

"You're right, Ginny," he said slowly, "I'm not Harry. I'm not supposed to be Harry. If there's one thing I've learned from him, though, is that we have to believe we're strong enough, that we're good enough, that we're worth something." He turned and smiled at her. "And I'm not facing this alone. I may be the only one in the room, but I know you and Luna are always looking out for me. I may not be Harry, but I am a Gryffindor, and I can be brave, too. "

If Ginny were the crying sort, she would have wiped a tear from her face. But Neville knew that wasn't her style. She simply nodded, her face in stoic agreement. Neville glanced over his shoulder, realizing he only had ten minutes before his detention. Ginny caught on in a moment, and before he could step forward to leave, she bowled him over with a gigantic hug. Neville was caught off guard, the look of surprise apparent on his face. He really didn't understand girls this year. He did return the hug, feeling a little less awkward than he did with Hannah but only because he knew Ginny so well. As quickly as she had hugged him, Ginny let go.

"I may not be there with you in the room, Neville, but I stand with you." Neville choked up and turned to leave the room, Ginny a step or two behind him. As he walked down the staircase, he realized every Gryffindor was in the room, all waiting for his departure. He nodded to them, unable to say anything, and no one was able to say anything in return.

* * *

The walk to the classroom was excruciatingly long and yet over in a moment's notice. He paused at the door, hesitant to turn the handle. Could he do this? He couldn't bring himself to turn the handle. He thought about Harry. If Harry could face You-Know-Who alone, then he could muster up the courage to do this same with the Carrows. Taking a deep breath, he plunged into the unknown.

As he was in Amycus' classroom, he didn't know what it would look like. It turned out to be the same format as Alecto's class. Long, dark curtains blocked out the potential for any light and blue flames continued to drench the room in a chilly atmosphere. Alecto and Amycus were at Amycus' desk, chattering in an excited tone. Neville looked first at Alecto, then at Amycus. If he didn't know better, he would have thought they were twins. They had the same long, droopy look and stocky figure. Amycus had a more lopsided smile than Alecto and his breath was a bit more wheezy. Amycus first noticed Neville standing in the doorway. He nudged his sister on the arm with his elbow, and she turned towards Neville with a hungry look on her face.

"Look who it is. Longbottom. About time we got to have some fun around here," she spoke.

Neville squared and walked up to the front, not speaking a word.

Amycus spoke next, his voice as wheezy as his breathing, "Alecto was catching me up on her class. Crabbe and Goyle were kind enough to fill us in on your performance at school," he said, starting to walk towards Neville. He grinned. "I suppose you would want to protect Muggles, seeing how you're practically a muggle yourself," he said, a touch of revulsion in his voice.

Alecto came closer to Neville as well, circling him as though getting ready to pounce. "The world is changing, Longbottom. You know you barely qualify for Hogwarts, but making a home amongst Muggles isn't going to save you." She fingered her wand and Neville knew she was eager to use it. "After all, you do have a rich wizarding heritage. There's so much more you could do with a bit of training in the right direction."

Amycus jumped in, circling Neville as well, "You don't have to live your life known as someone who was almost a squib. In fact, it worked out well for the last boy in his position."

The both looked at Neville, looking as though they expected an answer. Neville closed his eyes for a brief moment to gather couraged, then opened them and looked straight ahead at the wall. The seconds ticked by, and in those moments Amycus' sneer turned into a scowl.

"Perhaps you need a demonstration to see just how strong you could be," he breathed out. "Crucio!" he yelled. Because he stood so close to Neville, he didn't have time to react before the curse hit him.

The pain was like nothing he had ever experienced. Every ounce of his body was in pain, he was on the floor, gasping for breath between screams of agony. All he could think and feel was the pain ripping apart his body beyond consciousness. As quickly as it started, it stopped, leaving Neville curled up into a ball on the floor, still twitching from the pain. Amycus smirked and Alecto looked down, looking as if nothing out of the ordinary had just happened. If anything, she looked a little pouty at Amycus beating her to the curse.

"Not a bad show," Alecto said to her brother. He snickered a bit.

"Now, remind me again why you want to stand with the muggles?" Amycus said. "You can be the one receiving these kinds of spells, or you could be the one casting them."

Neville gathered all of his strength and pushed himself off of the floor. He slowly stood up, head raised defiantly and once again looking at the wall in front of him in complete silence. He was gritting his teeth so hard he thought they would break but he refused to betray any emotion. At this, Amycus and Alecto lips seemed to curl back into a snarl. Neville knew this was not the outcome they wanted.

"Trying to be the strong, silent type?" said Amycus.

"I suppose he's trying to make it a family theme," said Alecto. "After all, his parents don't have much to say these days." Neville's fists clenched so hard they were turning white. Alecto could sense she was heading in the right direction to bring him as much pain as possible and began her attack.

"I suppose they're nice and comfortable in their little prison in St. Mungo's. Tell me, Longbottom, does it hurt your brain to have to be the one to start all of the conversation? Bellatrix tried so hard to get your parents to open up, but they just didn't know good manners, I suppose."

As soon as Alecto said that, an explosion occurred in front of her face. She yelped in surprise and stumbled backwards while Amycus leaped backwards to avoid the blast. Neville had been ready to retaliate, but he was only about to shout back at the Carrows, nothing magic related. Did he just have an outburst of magic? Neville couldn't believe it. The only time he had ever successfully accomplished magic without the aid of a wand was when great uncle Algie dropped him out of the window. There wasn't much time to think about it though, as Alecto wheeled around to look him directly in the eye. Instead of her usual condescending sneer, there was a look of pure loathing in her face.

"CRUCIO!" she shrieked, eyes flashing with malice, intent on revenge for his little stunt.

Blinding pain seared across Neville's body. He could hear himself scream, but he could barely recognize it as his own because of the sheer intensity. All that existed was this pain, like being struck by lighting a thousand times in a thousand places. The longer it went, the less he could remember anything that had happened before, or that anything other pain could happen next. He couldn't concentrate, couldn't focus on anything but the pain inside. Finally it stopped and Neville lay on the floor, his body aching. The curse had stopped, but it was as if his body was still experiencing phantom pains. He stayed on the ground, struggling to find his breath.

The siblings seemed to prance gleefully at this effect. Amycus even gave a little whoop of triumph. Alecto sneered in satisfaction, basking in her wickedness.

"Lesson starting to sink in, Longbottom?" she twittered excitedly. "Look at you, lying there practically lifeless. You can't win the war this way, you should just lay there on the ground like the blood traitor filth you are."

Neville squeezed his eyes shut, willing himself not to respond. Everything seemed to be throbbing and he didn't think he had the energy to get up.

"Don't worry, in time everyone will walk over you and the rest of the wizards like you. No one can fight against the Dark Lord and win. No one ever will."

_Harry will,_ Nevile thought. _Harry will fight against him and win_. With everything he could muster, he pressed his hands against the floor. The very act of pushing himself up was the greatest pain he had felt yet, but the motion carried him up to his knees. He paused there, catching his breath. Amycus and Alecto came to face him, looks of confusion on their faces. Taking in a ragged breath, Neville forced himself to a stand. Only at the end of all of this did he look up, a fire in his eyes he had never known he had. He looked Alecto right in the eye and whispered hoarsely.

"I will. I will fight against…" he paused, the two siblings hanging on to his every word. "Against Voldemort."

Rage encompassed the faces of the Carrows. At the same time they struck Neville with the Cruciatus curse.

It was a pain beyond pain. They held him there longer than ever, and Neville could not imagine his life but pain. He wished himself to die, to be released from the waves of torment that seemed to shred his body into pieces, and yet the pain kept coming. Finally he could feel his conscious slipping and he ached to be released into nothingness. In the back of his mind, he registered the door slamming open and a voice yelling at the Carrows. Suddenly the pain stopped, and Neville could feel the darkness of passing out taking over.

"You fools," the voice hissed menacingly…. Neville knew that voice. He feared that voice beyond any other voice. He held on desperately to his consciousness to find out his final fate, but only to find himself slipping in and out.

"...dared to say his name…" said Alecto (or was it Amycus?).

"Do you really think….. Dark Lord will be displeased… if he had died…" Snape's voice said.

"...what does it matter… he's a blood traitor anyway…" The blackouts between the conversations were getting longer. "You can't tell us…" said a Carrow sibling.

"I most certainly can….. Try this again... face the wrath... hospital wing, now."

Neville finally succmbed to the pain and blacked out completely.

* * *

When Neville finally opened his eyes, he found himself in the hospital wing with Madam Pomfrey, who was fidgeting with some of her healing instruments in the corner. His body felt like he had been stabbed everywhere imaginable. He couldn't help but wonder if getting hit by the Hogwarts Express would have been less pain than what he was feeling now.

He lay there in silence for a few minutes before hearing a clanging of dropped devices and a surprised squeak from Madame Pomfrey. It took everything Neville had to move his head to the side and see her rushing towards him.

"Good heavens, you're awake!" She turned and said to something out of his view, "Get Professor McGonagall immediately." Once again she faced Neville.

"Neville, I know you're conscious, but can you speak to me at all?" She asked in a hurried voice, as though anxious to know the answer.

Neville looked at her and paused. Several times he tried to open his mouth, but couldn't seem to do it. On the third attempt, he heard a raspy voice croak "Yes, I think so." Startled, he realized that was his voice.

Madame Pomfrey breathed a long sigh of relief. "Thank goodness, the damage isn't nearly as extensive as we first thought." Before anything else could be said, Professors McGonagall, Sprout, Flitwick, and Slughorn entered into his bedchamber.

"Longbottom," McGonagall said in the most gentle voice he had ever heard from her, "can you see and hear all of us in the room?"

Neville shook his head. "Tell us," she began again, "what happened. You looked on the verge of death according to Poppy."

Neville could slowly feel his strength returning to him, but still shut his eyes to the horror of the memory. "It was the Cruciatus curse." Sprout put a hand to her mouth, Slughorn and Flitwick gasped in surprise, but Professor McGonagall just looked angry.

"Cruciatus curse for a detention? Never would I have dreamed they would take it so far on a student…" She let her words trail away. No one seemed eager to speak.

"Professor Slughorn has brought you a sleeping draught, Longbottom. It's a bit stronger of a grade than Madame Pomfrey usually concocts, but with all that you faced last night…" Once again McGonagall stopped and simply left her sentence there. Slughorn handed him the mug, and the four of the professors patted his shoulder before moving to the side. He could hear them whispering as he took his potion.

"Minerva, we must make a stand. We can't allow our students to face such serious conditions," Professor Flitwick said.

"He's right," said Madame Pomfrey, "this boy was on the edge of death when Amycus dumped him on the bed and almost injured him further."

But what the teachers planned Neville never found out. He drifted off into a dreamless sleep almost instantly and woke up long after the conversation had ended.

The second time Neville woke up in the hospital wing, he immediately remembered what had happened and where he was. Opening his eyes, he saw he was alone. He first wiggled his toes to see if they worked, then his fingers, then bent his knees and legs. Though his body ached, he was satisfied he could move. He began to sit up, swinging his legs over the side when Ginny walked in.

"Neville, you're awake!" Ginny, just like Madame Pomfrey, breathed a sigh of relief. "I'm so glad you're ok."

Neville looked at her, a little embarrassed at the attention. "I'm not sure OK is the word I would use, but I'm alive." He said, sounding tired. "How long have I been out?"

"A few days. It's Friday morning," she responded. Just then Madame Pomfrey bustled in and went straight to Neville. She began poking and prodding him, checking all of his movements. After a few minutes of examination, she looked satisfied.

"Well, you're not going to feel up to full strength for a while, but I think you can head back to the dormitories. Do you have any classes today?"

Neville flinched at the idea of going to class. "Just Charms," he said slowly.

Madame Pomfrey looked at him with kindness. "I'll send a note to Professor Flitwick excusing you from class today. I want you to take it as easy as possible until Monday." And just like that she hurried off to send her message.

Neville stood up and took a step forward gingerly. Ginny came up and he put his arm around her for support. After a few steps, he felt like he could manage on his own. They walked out of the door in silence. Ginny wasn't sure what to say and Neville didn't have anything to say. As soon as he walked out the door into the hallway, though, he stopped.

In front of him was graffiti on the wall stating, "I stand with Neville." He stood there, confused. Ginny grinned at his confusion.

"What… what happened? What is this?" Neville said, trying to elaborate but unable to get past what he was seeing.

"I told you," she said quietly, "I stand by you. You don't have to do this alone."

Neville's eyes glistened. "Thanks, Ginny," he said in a hushed voice. They rounded the corner and as they went up the staircase he saw the words "I stand with Neville" painted on the wall again, but this time in a very loopy script completely opposite of the first handwriting. Ginny smiled at Neville as he turned to her.

"Um, Luna stands by you, too," she said.

They continued on, passing by several versions of "I stand with Neville" written on the walls. Some were perfectly legible while others were barely readable, but they all said the same thing. Neville couldn't say anything, the words caught in his throat. Ginny, after a while, giggled and said, "I guess most everyone does, too."

They reached the portrait hole and Neville insisted climbing up himself, which took a bit of time. When he finally stood up in the common room, he about fell to the ground in terror because of the loud cheer that went up all around him.

It took him a moment to realize they were cheering for him, just like they had cheered for Harry. For the first time in his life, he realized without a doubt that Sorting Hat had been right all along. He really did belong in Gryffindor.


	8. Chapter 8: Charms Review

You can tell I'm really starting to find my groove in this story by the fact that this chapter is even longer than the last and I didn't even know what I want to do with it when I first sat down to write it! It really is thanks to everyone who has followed, favorited, and reviewed the story. You guys are awesome and make writing so much fun! I get the feeling I'll be writing longer chapters from here on out, so enjoy!

* * *

In true Hogwarts fashion, because Neville's wish was to keep everything about his detention a secret, everyone knew exactly what had happened. Neville had spent most of his Friday in the Gryffindor common room as he didn't feel up to the task of walking up and down staircases. He knew, however, he had to face the rest of the school sometime, and Saturday morning was as good of a day as any to do so.

He got up before Seamus and was hoping that he could duck in and out of the Great Hall early before anyone noticed. Sunlight poured into the common room, and Neville stopped for a moment to look outside. They were in the middle of a war, and yet the grounds looked serene with ta perfect blue sky and trees with the lightest hint of fall colors. Sometimes it felt like the war would never come to Hogwarts, but he knew that was simply a false sense of security. War had already seeped into the cracks of Hogwarts, he couldn't forget that.

Down the halls he went, noting that they were a bit quieter than usual. As he entered the Great Hall, he breathed a huge sigh of relief, noting there were few students in the hall. Even though it was only the early birds, he saw the whispers pass amongst the students as he walked in. Most everyone except the Slytherins looked at him with amazement and something else. He kept going through different adjectives like longing, worry, uncertainty, sadness, but that wasn't it. He shook his head. He knew that look. That was the look people gave Harry all the time, especially at the beginning. And then it came to him, and he froze on the spot.

Pity. They felt bad for him, and he knew it went beyond what had happened at detention. They knew. The whole school finally knew what had happened to his parents. He still couldn't move, he felt as though every eye were looking at him in mixture of pity and sadness. No one wanted to move anywhere close to him and the he stood facing everyone's piercing curiosity.

Or so he thought until Luna sprung up next to him, taking his hand. She gently pulled his hand to get him to start moving, and Neville tried to focus only on the back of her head. He couldn't help notice the side glances as he passed by and how the whispers always grew as soon as the people were behind him. Luna then pulled him down to one of the seats at the edge of the table and walked over to the other side. He had been so busy looking at everyone that he didn't realize he was sitting not at the Gryffindor table at the end, but the Ravenclaw table next to the Slytherins. With a start he stood back up, drawing Luna's confused gaze.

"I'm at the wrong table, Luna," he sputtered. "I really should sit with my classmates."

"But I am your classmate," she responded matter of factly. "Besides, there's no point in having you sit by yourself where someone can come and interrupt you at any moment."

He glanced behind him to the Gryffindor table. He had started to respond, but stopped before the first word was finished. Luna was right, the Gryffindor table was practically empty. Normally it was packed full, but that's because Neville liked to sleep in and always came well after breakfast had begun. Apparently it was a shared trait among Gryffindors seeing as there were only a handful of students among the younger grades sitting at the table, none of whom Neville knew. He sat back down as Luna was putting fresh fruit on her plate, humming a little ditty to herself. He slowly began grabbing things for himself and at first they ate in almost awkward silence. Neville thought maybe it was only awkward for him, seeing as Luna was perfectly content in what she was doing.

Without looking up, Luna casually mentioned, "No one ever sits next to me so I normally don't talk during breakfast. What should we discuss?" Neville squirmed a little. He often forgot that the rest of the Ravenclaws used to pick on Luna, and then he realized he was glad that he had taken the time to get to know her over the years. She was a good friend to him and he hoped he was a good friend for her.

"What are you learning in Care of Magical Creatures?" Neville asked, genuinely curious. "I know that's one of your favorite subjects."

Luna beamed at him, excited for the chance to talk about something she loved. "Hagrid has us learning about kneazles. I think he's more of a dog person, he always gets jumpy whenever the kneazle comes near him." Luna then dove into the history behind kneazles, most of which was not covered by Hagrid. "He never seems to be interested in the history even though I think it's one of the more interesting aspects of magical creatures…" And so she continued on, Neville mostly nodding politely every few minutes. While he hadn't minded Care of Magical Creatures and had gotten good marks, it wasn't a subject that particularly interested him. Magical plants were so diverse he knew he could spend his entire life studying them and have just as interesting a time.

"...And then after class Hagrid and I got in a conversation about careers involving magical creatures, and he mentioned how the last student who was serious about such things was Ginny's older brother Charlie. He gets to spend a lot of time in foreign countries but really focuses on his specialty, dragons. Personally I'd much rather travel the world in order to explore as many different creatures I can rather than focus on just one species. Maybe you and I can plan a trip together around the world together, you focusing on the plants and me on the animals. I think I'd like to go to India first, I hear that they have some of the largest flutters of Apsaras recorded, though most Quibbler readers don't even know they exist somehow."

Neville started to nod in agreement before realizing what he was agreeing to. "Wait, what?" He said with a start. "Did you just say travel the world together?"

"How else are you going to get hands on experience?" Luna responded.

"But… I'm not sure I even know what I want to do yet." Neville replied thoughtfully. "I mean, I know my dream job would be to teach Herbology here at Hogwarts, but dreams have to wait with the war going on."

"The war won't go on forever," Luna said confidently.

Neville looked at her with doubt. "How can you be so sure?" he asked. "I know I want us to win, but sometimes I feel like we won't ever go back to how things were."

Luna's face went uncharacteristically serious. "Neville, things won't ever go back to the way they were, but that doesn't mean that evil will win. No matter how dark the night gets, the morning always come. History has repeated that message to us over thousands of centuries. Don't they always say that the darkest hour is the one before breaking dawn?"

Neville blew out a long sigh. "Are we in our darkest hour?"

Luna looked up, contemplating her response. "Not yet, but it'll be soon."

Neville looked down at his plate and started pushing food around in circles, not sure what to say in response. After a moment Luna went back to humming to herself and finishing the last of her fruit, a whimsical smile teasing her lips. Once the last strawberry was finished, she stood up, collecting her books.

"Let me know when the next DA meeting is, ok?" She said dreamily and she wandered off, twirling at odd moments to the tune Neville assumed she was still humming. He was about to gather his things quickly and leave the table (after all, this wasn't his house) when Luna's seat was replaced by Terry Boot, a Ravenclaw seventh year.

"Wait, did Luna just say there's going to be another DA meeting?" He asked eagerly.

"What? No, there aren't any DA meetings planned that I know of," Neville responded, caught off guard by the fact that Terry was in front of him.

"Darn, I was kind of hoping that would start back up again." Terry responded with a slight sound of disappointment.

There was a pause, and Neville finally said, "Um, is there anything else you wanted to ask?"

"Oh, right. Well, most of us noticed you weren't at Charms on Friday and a few of us thought we'd get together and help you catch up. Ernie mentioned it to me yesterday at the end of class as a way to help you out and get some extra practice in. He's seems pretty intent on being top of the year since Hermione isn't around."

Neville couldn't help but sit back a bit, eyeing Terry with a hint of suspicion. Not that he thought they were playing a prank or anything malicious, but he had never had anyone from another house seek him out except for Luna, especially for something like studying. It was well known among the students that Neville had struggled early on with classes so opportunities to study with other students in his year were pretty much nonexistent. And yet here was Terry Boot asking if he could help him catch up. Turns out it wasn't just girls he didn't understand this year. It seemed like everyone was acting funny around him.

"I could use the extra help," said Neville. "What did we cover last Friday, anyway?"

Terry smiled."You know how we did a lot of spellwork involving water last year? Well, we must be going through elemental magic, because right now we're focusing on earth based charms. The first one we did was growth charm that can only be used on plants. Apparently it's a common camouflage technique used for people who have more outdoorsy occupations. It's pretty cool."

Neville also broke into a grin. A spell that combined his two best subjects, Herbology and Charms? That was something he could handle. "I'm in."

"Great! Let's meet around two o'clock this afternoon down by the lake, I want to finish some Potions homework before I move on to Charms," Terry responded. "I'll let Ernie and Hannah know. You can ask Lavender and Parvati if they want to come, I know they like Charms as well."

"Seems like we've got a pretty big group going. Are you the only Ravenclaw that will be there?" asked Neville.

"Nope, Anthony and Padma will be there, too," said Terry. Neville looked down the table and saw Anthony sitting with Michael Corner and remembered that the three of them always hung out. "How come Michael isn't in Charms with us?" Neville asked.

"Oh, Michael never liked Charms, thought it was too frivolous. He likes more straightforward magic like Transfiguration and Arithmancy. Personally, I think a lot of the spells we learn in Charms are pretty useful, but we all have different opinions I guess," Terry replied thoughtfully.

"Anyway," he went on, "If we're going to do this, I need to go and get that Potions homework finished like I wanted to. You'll pass on the invite to Lavender and Parvati?" Neville nodded.

"Excellent!" He said, standing up. "See you then!" He turned and starting walking away as Neville stood up. Before he walked off, though, Terry turned with a start.

"I almost forgot!" he exclaimed, turning back around to face Neville. "Professor Slughorn has something for you. He gave it to me to give to you. Don't forget to ask me about it this afternoon!" Neville reached out to ask him what it was, but Terry had turned in a moment's notice and briskly walked out of the Great Hall.

Neville looked around. The Great Hall was bustling with activity now that it was later in the morning but that also meant there were more curious looks cast in his direction. Then again, he was sitting at the Ravenclaw table instead of his own but in his heart he knew the real reason why they stared. He walked halfway down the table, still walking slowly as his body was incredibly sore still. When he reached the door, he bumped into Ginny (literally) who was coming in. She started to grumble, not realizing who she had run into. When she looked up and saw Neville, though, her face instantly lit up.

"Hey, I didn't realize you were already down here," Ginny said. "How about we meet later this afternoon to talk plans? The Gryffindors had a lot of fun with our last project," she said slyly, knowing it would be foolish to talk about her graffitti stunt with everyone passing by. Her eyes shifted from side to side, noting that Blaise was lounging around lazily watching the students come in and out of the Hall.

Neville shook his head. "Can't. I'm meeting up with Terry Boot and a bunch of others to catch up on the Charms work I missed yesterday. You know, they keep asking me when we're going to start back up again."

"Maybe we should become more inclusive," she said carefully. "It sounds like people remember our last study group pretty fondly. I've gotten a few questions about it, too. Not nearly as many as you, though." She gave a glance at Blaise, who was looking the other way. Her eyes narrowed. "Let's talk about this later. Why don't you do some research on who's interested? We'll talk later tonight and share what we found."

"Sounds good to me," said Neville, missing the fact that Blaise was close by since his back was turned to him. "I'll catch up with you later." Ginny nodded and they both went their separate ways.

* * *

After finding Lavender and Parvati discussing Divination in the common room, he relayed the invitation which the two readily accepted. He wandered off quickly after they accepted. He never seemed to get along with Lavender and Parvati as their interests were completely different from his. He didn't mind, though. It was nice not having to hear Lavender squeal every time her nail polish chipped in Herbology, which was a weekly occurrence in the OWL level Herbology coursework. Professor Sprout would always give a stern look of disapproval since Lavender would generally upset the Ribwort Plantain, a plant that needed a calm environment as it was used to help ease bouts of coughing in the winter.

And so he found himself at the lake earlier than he had planned, not sure what to do with himself except look out beyond the lake. He could hardly believe that just last week he had spent the evening watching the sunset with a girl. Heck, he could hardly believe that he had the chance to sit with a girl and watch a sunset. It was… nice.

Neville felt more confused. Hannah wasn't like any of the other girls in the Gryffindor house. Ginny was fiery and passionate and full of life and way out of his league (which he learned the hard way several years ago). Hermione was smart and capable and talented and, again, way out of his league (another lesson he had learned the hard way). Lavender and Parvati were always gossipping and giggling about something they had heard from someone else. The rest of the Gryffindor girls never gave him a second glance. But Hannah, she was something else. She wasn't the prettiest girl by a long shot, but she had a very welcoming smile and pleasant features. Neville thought about how even though she was quiet and kept to herself, she was always ready to help someone else at a moment's notice. And when he had put his arm around her, it was completely different feeling than he had ever felt hugging Luna or Ginny. The feeling made him nervous but happy at the same time. He knew he wanted to see if it would come again when he was around her.

Neville was so lost in thought he didn't hear footsteps behind him and Hannah say, "Hi, Neville." Neville jumped with a start, a blush creeping across his face. He really didn't want Hannah to realize he had been thinking about her. Hannah noticed him jump.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you. You must have been really lost in your thoughts. What were you thinking about?" She asked innocently.

That was the last question Neville wanted to answer truthfully. He wrung his hands nervously.

"Apsaras," he blurted out. Apsaras?! Neville thought to himself. Was that really the best he could think of? He didn't even know what they were. Neville wanted to slap himself for picking such a stupid answer.

"Oh," she said, "I don't think I know what that is."

"It's a magical creature that lives in India," he said slowly, desperately trying to recall what Luna had said to him. "Most people don't really know much about them, so you're not the only one. Luna was telling me about them this morning."

Good save, voiced his inner monologue. Maybe she'll start asking about something else.

"Right. So, you and Luna seem to talk a lot," she said awkwardly as though that wasn't the actual question she wanted to ask.

Neville had no clue where this was going. "Well, yeah, we're friends. We've been through a lot together." It was Hannah's turn to shuffle uncomfortably, which caught Neville by surprise. Normally that was his response in a conversation, it felt strange to see someone else doing the same.

"Well," she said, beginning to blush, "I knew you were friends, I just.. I wondered… I mean.." she stumbled, "I didn't know how close of friends you were," she finished lamely, refusing to make eye contact.

As usual, Neville felt confused. Where was she going with this?

"We kind of faced death together so I guess you could say we're really close." Neville panicked when he saw her face fall. "But not like how Harry and Ginny have been friends and then started dating kind of friends. I mean, I had a crush on Luna when I first met her, but that kind of stuff never seemed to interest her…" What was he saying? As he was talking he kept screaming in his head, STOP TALKING STOP TALKING STOP TALKING! but words kept spilling out, "and I figured if she wasn't interested there wasn't any use getting hung up on it since it's not the first time this has ever happened to me. I guess you could say we're friends like Ron and Hermione are." Neville really wanted to smack himself for that speech.

Hannah kicked the grass at her feet. "I always thought those two liked each other."

"Ron and Hermione?" Neville blurted out. "I always thought they were just really close friends who cared deeply about it other. I mean, you can care about someone and not want to date them. Besides, they bicker way too much to ever end up together."

The silence was unbearable to Neville. Why was this whole thing so bloody awkward?

"So," Hannah started tentatively, "You and Luna are just friends?"

"Just friends" Neville repeated back, emphasizing the words with assurance. Hannah looked up at him for the first time in a while and smiled. To Neville's relief, he could hear a group of students talking loudly behind them. They both turned around and saw the rest of their Charms classmates walking towards them. Ernie eyed them suspiciously but everyone else was caught up in their conversation. Terry and Anthony were carrying boxes with what looked like moly in different pots. When the group reached them, the boys set down their boxes.

"What's with the Moly?" Neville said, recognizing the characteristic black stem and white flowers now that he could see the plant up close. They hadn't worked with Moly since their first year.

"I talked to Professor Sprout about our plans and she didn't want us practicing on the grass like I originally intended," said Terry. "She said that plants can get overwhelmed by too much of this particular spell and when that happens, the plants shrivel up and die instead of growing enormously like the spell is supposed to do."

"Why did you bring it up to Professor Sprout to begin with?" asked Parvati curiously.

"If we have a spell that can cause plants to grow at alarming rates, I couldn't see why we didn't use it all the time instead of spending all of Herbology waiting for plants to grow naturally. Remember how long it took those mandrakes to mature in our second year? We could have just used this spell and known immediately about the basilisk," Terry replied.

"Makes sense to me," said Parvati. "why aren't we doing it that way?"

"Because it wouldn't work," responded Neville, catching everyone by surprise (including himself). Everyone looked at him expectantly. "You're not really changing the plant like in transfiguration. You're simply enhancing it with a charm. Once the charm wears off, the plant wouldn't be able to sustain the growth only achieved through magic and would go back to the way it was. Kind of like deflating a balloon."

There were several nods in understanding and more than a few of the group were impressed.

"That was Professor Sprout's response, too," Terry said. Neville was slightly embarrassed but pleased with everyone's reaction.

"Ok, tell me all about this charm," said Neville, ready to change the subject.

Ernie decided to speak up while Terry was handing out pots of moly plants to everyone. "The spell is called the Plant Growth Charm, original, I know, and the spell is 'sero cretum'."

"Sero crayton," Neville said, murmuring under his breath. Ernie kept going on about the properties, not hearing Neville.

"Cretum," Hannah corrected quietly. "Not crayton."

"Right," replied Neville. "Sero cretum," he practiced again.

"Neville, did you catch that?" Ernie said, stopping to look at Neville. He gave an embarrassed look.

"Sorry, I was practicing the incantation."

"Ok, for the wand movement, Professor Flitwick said the charm is best when done above the plant, but it can still be accomplished standing in front or beside the plant." Ernie held his wand a little tighter than usual. "For the movement, you say the incantation while circling the plant with the tip of your wand, moving up the plant. You shouldn't finish the incantation until you reach the top of the plant. At the top and once you've said the words, you give a slight flick downward and then slowly pull up like you're dragging the plant up. The strength of the caster determines how long the plant will stay in its enlarged state."

Ernie turned to and demonstrated the spell. Just as he lifted his wand, the plant began to expand. Neville find the entire thing fascinating and was disappointed when Ernie's wand seemed to break off from the spell, leaving the plant about twice the size it had been before. Ernie turned and smiled at everyone, very satisfied with his result. "Make sense?" He asked, directing his question mostly to Neville, who nodded in agreement.

They each went about their work, filling in with odd comments in between attempts. Terry got the spell as quickly as Ernie though his plant wasn't quite as tall. Lavender could only get the flower portion to grow ("it's the prettiest part anyway," she muttered under her breath), and the rest couldn't seem to the connection at the end to get the plant to grow. Neville had been slightly nervous to do the spell in front of everyone since they had already practiced, but everyone seemed absorbed in their work. He turned to his plant and first moved his wand slowly around as Ernie demonstrated, repeating the incantation in his mind. At the top he did the movement and could feel the pull of the plant against his wand. He lifted his wand ever so slightly, maintaining the tension when he realized that the plant was slowly expanding. He was so surprised that it had worked non-verbally that he broke the connection without meaning to. He smiled. It wasn't a noticeable growth if you hadn't been paying attention, but it was definitely there. All he had meant to do was practice, he didn't expect anything to happen

Hannah whispered to him, "Did you just do the spell without saying the incantation?"

A blush creeped up on Neville's face. He wanted to answer yes and show off, but he didn't want everyone to over hear and ask him to do it again. He wasn't sure if he could do it again like that, it happened because he thought he was just practicing and felt more relaxed than usual. "No," he replied, "I think mine was just bigger to start with."

Hannah gave him a look that said she didn't quite believe him, but went back to her own plant. Neville took a deep breath and felt confident he could do the spell since he had technically done it already.

Slowly Neville repeated the incantation out loud as he swirled his wand around the plant. Coming to the top, he let his wand fall ever so gently and then began to pull up as though the tip of his wand was attached to the flower by a string. First the stem began to grow thicker, then the existing leaves spread out in all directions and were joined by new growth. By this time everyone had noticed what Neville was accomplishing and had stopped to watch. The white flower on top grew a fair amount and was joined by a second flower of equal size. By this time, however, Neville felt he couldn't maintain the connection any longer and felt his wand veer off to the side as the tension was released. He couldn't help but notice that his attempt had a much more profound effect than Ernie's. Everyone around him clapped giving their congrats.

"Your effect was a lot different from Ernie and Terry's spell," noted Anthony Goldstein. "What do you think caused it?"

"I've watched plants grow a lot and have spent a lot of time helping out with Professor Sprout," said Neville. "I've noticed that with the majority of plants, you'll first see the stem, then the leaves, and finally the flower grow. It just made sense to apply that same logic to the spell since it's mimicking what the plant does naturally." He shrugged his shoulders to make it sound like it wasn't a big deal, but everyone seemed impressed.

"Neville, do you think you could help me out?" asked Padma. "I can't seem to get the motion right." And so Neville first helped out Padma, then Hannah (who he noticed kept sneaking glances at him when she thought he wasn't looking) while Ernie and Terry helped the others. By the end of it, everyone could get their plant to grow slightly, though no one could quite catch up to Neville's achievement.

"You know," said Padma, "this feels like the DA all over again." Everyone's heads turned expectantly towards Neville as though waiting for the response that said the meetings were back on. He responded by looking a little befuddled at the thought.

"Why are you all looking at me?" He finally said.

"You're one of Harry's close friends and you were at the Ministry battle and the skirmish at the Astronomy Tower," replied Ernie expectantly while looking around to make sure no one was approaching. "You must know what Harry and Ron and Hermione are up to. They have a plan to defeat You-Know-Who, don't they?"

"I'm sure they do, but they didn't really have a chance to tell Ginny, Luna or me about." Neville admitted. "But we've been talking amongst ourselves and even though we don't know the plan, we still want to do our part in this war, especially with Hogwarts being over run with the Carrows and Professor Snape."

"Do you have a plan to protect Hogwarts?" asked Parvati, somewhat excited.

"No plans yet, but we think it's time we start making some," said Neville. "It's not going to be easy, though. Are any of you interested in getting the DA back together?"

Neville breathed a sigh of relief when everyone started chattering away excitedly about the prospect of starting the DA. He had expected Hannah and Ernie to be interested, but here it seemed all of the old DA members were ready to go.

"What will we do first?" piped up Hannah excitedly.

"I'll have to talk to Luna and Ginny about it," replied Neville. "Do you guys have your old coins?" Some nodded yes immediately, others looked a little sheepish at not knowing where it was.

"Make sure you find it, I think it'll be the best way to communicate again," Neville spoke. "And I can guarantee I can't replicate Hermione's spell and make any more."

Neville looked around the group. "Anything else?" He saw people shaking their heads no, and he couldn't help but wonder when he became in charge of this. It was as though he was officially closing the meeting, because everyone started to wander off to get their things. Anthony began collecting the plants and Terry motioned for him to follow. They met at Terry's rucksack next to the box the moly plants had started in.

"Here, Professor Slughorn brewed a special potion for you. He said it's for muscle relief and will target the areas where you're sore."

Neville couldn't help but respond, "Every muscle is sore. Did he mention what it will feel like?"

Terry replied, "He said you'll get a warm feeling around the muscle, then it'll cool, then it'll warm up again. The process will keep going for about an hour or longer so he said to take it when you're studying or sitting down." He handed Neville the small flask. "He also said to take it all at once."

Neville took the potion and thanked Terry for the delivery, though he couldn't mask his confusion over it. He had barely talked to Slughorn last year and got the distinct impression Slughorn hadn't been very impressed with Neville since he received zero Slug Club invites after that ride on the train.

"Terry, did Professor Slughorn say why he was doing this?" asked Neville. Terry looked past him thoughtfully.

"I'm sure the teachers heard about your detention," said Terry. "Maybe he wanted to show he's on the student's side, too, without raising suspicions." Terry slung his rucksack over his shoulder and grabbed his box as Anthony made it by his side. "Well see you around, Neville!" He called out and walked towards the greenhouses. Neville turned and walked towards the castle watching the group ahead of him. Hannah, who had been walking with Ernie, gave a quick look over her shoulder as though looking for Neville. He smiled when he caught her eye and gave her a wave, who in turn grinned even more and waved back.


	9. Chapter 9: Unsatisfactory

**A bit shorter than the previous two chapters, but things are moving along and this felt like a good place to break off the chapter. As always, feedback is always appreciated! **

* * *

Neville had met up with Ginny in the common room that evening to discuss plans, but Ginny didn't want to brainstorm without Luna and as she couldn't spend time with them in their common room (despite Ginny's desire to sneak her in the room for a few hours to which Neville said it would draw way too much attention), they had to find time outside of classes. The tricky part was finding places where people from different houses could meet without attracting any suspicion, and they knew they couldn't meet in the same place too often. They finally met up with each other near the greenhouses on Wednesday afternoon. Neville could pass it off as spending time with Professor Sprout, Luna had Care of Magical Creatures, and Ginny kept her broomstick on her so it looked like she was heading to the Quidditch pitch for practice (she played Chaser once again for the team). As it was a clear and unseasonably warm day, they sprawled out on the grass near the farthest greenhouse from the castle and out of sight of main traffic. Ginny had released a few decoy detonators to alert them if anyone had come. Usually they would release after a certain amount of time, but Ginny had charmed them to go off only when the grass stirred within a certain radius of their location.

Neville was leaning up against the wall of the greenhouse, Ginny was laying down on the grass soaking up the sun, and Luna was sitting in a half lotus position making notes on her parchment every so often.

"Anyone have any brilliant ideas for our first official DA operation?" Ginny asked, still looking up at the sky hoping the answer would fall from the heavens.

Neville shook his head and Luna crossed out whatever she had written while saying no.

"What would Harry do?" asked Neville absentmindedly.

"Land himself in detention," Ginny quipped back, smirking slightly at the thought. "He wouldn't have lasted a day with the Carrows and Snape in charge." They all laughed at the thought, knowing it was true. Harry had spent more time in detention than anyone else they knew, but that had never deterred his fighting spirit.

"I think even Harry would avoid detention this year if he knew what the punishments were," Neville said, trying to keep his voice casual but not really sure if he succeeded. Luna and Ginny didn't seem to catch on to it.

"That brings up a pretty important point," Ginny responded. "Whatever we do, we have to make sure no one can be blamed for it, especially since we've added quite a few people to our list of active members."

Luna looked around, confused. "Besides the three of us?"

Ginny sat up, smacking her forehead slightly. "Luna, I'm so sorry, I forgot to mention to you that Neville and I have been asking around to see any old DA members want to help us out on our endeavors. We talked about it Saturday morning when Neville left the Great Hall, you were already gone. I got caught up in other things that I completely forgot to mention it to you."

"That's ok," she said sincerely. "Everyone just asks me if Neville is in charge now that Harry's gone."

Ginny nodded her head in agreement, much to Neville's chagrin.

"Why does everyone think I'm in charge?" He let out an exasperated sigh and with a turn fell back on the grass, hands behind his head. "I'm no Harry. I mean, it's ok that I'm not Harry, and I don't mind helping out in this war, but I'm not exactly leader material."

"You're not going to fool anyone with that attitude, Neville," said Ginny. "It's always easier to follow and so people naturally gravitate to the person who can assuredly proclaim the ideas they already have. Why do you think so many people follow Harry, or Cedric, or even Malfoy? It's because they embody the traits that those people want to have but are afraid to show."

"I have a hard time believing anyone would want to be a …."

Ginny interrupted Neville, clearly agitated. "A tougher than nails Gryffindor who has stood up to the death eaters three different times and came out unscathed? The ONLY person who has faced detention with the Carrows and come out stronger for it? Of course they want to be like you, Neville, you're just as strong as Harry, Hermione, and Ron and the students and teachers at this school are finally getting around to seeing it."

"Ginny and I knew it all along," said Luna as though it was a simple fact. "Everyone else didn't see you at the Battle of the Ministry like we did. You've always been strong, you just haven't realized it yourself."

Neville shrugged his shoulders, giving up on his attempts to change their opinions about him. Secretly, though, he was grateful to have friends that stood by him.

Ginny turned to Luna, "Anyway, back to who's involved. There are a few sixth years who want to start up with us from Gryffindor, like Demelza Robbins. I talked to him at Quidditch practice and was accidentally overheard by Jimmy Peakes and Ritchie Coote, both of whom definitely want to join, too, even though they're a bit younger than I would like. Also, I know Fay Dunbar will come around now that Rionach O'Neal knows we're back on track. And then there's Romilda Vane (Ginny shook her head in annoyance at that one) and Alice Toplin who are interested. I think Nigel Wolpert will also want to get involved, but I haven't had a chance to talk with him yet."

Luna turned to Neville as though expecting him to make his list. "Right, so a lot of other seventh years are interested besides Fay and Rionach. There's Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil, Anthony Goldstein, Terry Boot, Padma Patil, Hannah Abbot, and Ernie McMillan. I bet Seamus will be up for it, and Michael Corner does everything with Terry and Anthony (Ginny gave a sour look) plus Susan Bones wasn't around when I asked, but I'm almost positive that she'll get involved."

"I think Luca Caruso will come back, too. He seems to follow me around a lot these days," said Luna. Ginny giggled a bit, to which Luna gave her an out of character glare.

"I know, I know" Ginny said between giggles, "you don't like him, but that doesn't mean he doesn't like you."

Guess I'm not the only one she's not interested in, thought Neville. And then the thought hit him. What if Luna had shown interest in him or another boy was because she wasn't interested in dating boys? Neville almost gasped out loud. Maybe that's why she got teased in the Ravenclaw house! Lesbians weren't exactly common at Hogwarts. In his mind none of this made a difference but he was sure other people at the school felt otherwise.

"Um, you know Luna, it's ok if you don't like boys." Luna and Ginny both turned to him, confused. "I mean, if you like, uhh…" he stuttered then decided to blurt it out, "Look, if you like girls instead of boys, neither Ginny or I will judge you, you'll still be as awesome as ever." At this Ginny burst out laughing and practically fell on the ground with laughter while Luna looked shell shocked at what he said. Neville instantly began to regret his little speech.

"I do like boys," she said, a quizzical look on her face. "Why are we even discussing this?"

Ginny caught her breath and started laughing again, though not quite as hard as before. Neville spoke up, "Well, I just thought that Luca wasn't the only one with a crush on you in the past, and since you never picked up on it, that maybe boys weren't your thing."

"Luna is definitely into boys," replied Ginny, finally getting into the conversation. "There's just one particular boy she's always liked, but he's just as whimsical as she is that he hasn't caught on to the fact yet. It also doesn't help that he was a few years above us and has already graduated."

Luna waved all of this off as though wiping the slate clean. "That's neither here nor there," she said. "We should be focusing on our next plan."

And in an instant Ginny and Neville's faces fell. They had been so busy being normal students they forgot they actually had important things to discuss like their next DA adventure. Luna glanced at her watch and immediately started placing things in her bag.

"My class starts in just a few minutes," Luna said. "Do you think we can pick this up tomorrow? How about the library next time?"

"Sounds good to me," said Ginny. "After dinner? Around 7:30?"

"Yes, that'll work," she responded back. Neville nodded in agreement, standing up as well. After saying their goodbyes, they parted ways, no closer to plans than when they started.

* * *

And once again they met together, this time at a table in the far corner of the library. Neville was in a somewhat grumpy mood after having his Dark Arts class that morning. Ginny and Luna were chatting about Transfiguration when Neville found them and not quite slammed his books on the table making everyone around them jump up and earning a scatching look from Madame Pince at the the front of the library. Ginny and Luna interrupted their conversation to look at him curiously.

"Carrows," he muttered mutinously and said nothing more, sitting down on one of the chairs. The girls decided to just let it slide.

"Luna," Ginny said, turning to face her, "got any ideas for our next event?" Luna shook her head no, causing Ginny to sigh loudly. She turned to ask Neville, but upon seeing the look on his face, thought better of it.

"Most of the ideas I had are a bit too risky and can be traced back to me," she said, showing a bit of frustration. Again she glanced at Neville, but he seemed checked out of the conversation. A minute or two passed in silence, and Ginny decided she was fed up with Neville's brooding.

"Well?" She asked Neville impatiently. "Are you going to tell us what's wrong because you're obviously not interested in the current conversation." Neville gave a startled look at Luna and Ginny as though just now realizing where he was and what he was supposed to be doing.

"Sorry, I'm just angry about our Dark Arts homework assigned today."

"What were you assigned to do?" asked Luna interested.

"Amycus had us learning about the two exploding hexes and had us practice in class." Ginny gave him a look that said pointedly asked, "and…?" Neville looked like he was ready to punch something.

"We were practising on stuffed animals, like kittens and dogs and ducks. He kept making the point that if we imagined them to be real we'd be more likely to cast the spell correctly." Neville looked disgusted with himself for even saying such a thing. "Since none of us were able to cast it correctly except for Crabbe and Goyle, who are suddenly NEWT capable students who just happened to start showing up for class this week, he made each of us take a stuffed animal and our homework is to correctly cast the charm and bring in the remnants to class. He warned us that anyone who does not complete the assignment will get detention with him."

Both Ginny and Luna looked at him, their faces aghast. "Wow," responded Ginny. "I knew he and his sister were evil, but he's starting to sound like a sociopath."

"Alecto keeps going on about undesirable traits in muggles, but look at her and her brother. I wish I could stick them on a poster with the label 'Undesirable No. 1,' everyone is unsatisfied with their teaching here," grumbled Neville in response. Luna couldn't seem to bring herself to respond.

Ginny's face lit up. "Wait, what did you just say?"

"I said I'd put Amycus' face with the words Undesirable No. 1 if I could, that lousy piece of…" Neville replied, but Ginny interrupted him

"That's it! That's our idea!" She whispered excitedly.

Neville gave her a stare, a little harsher than usual even though it wasn't about Ginny. "What do you mean that's our idea?"

"We can create our own version of the Undesirable posters. You're absolutely right in saying that everyone is unsatisfied with the quality of teaching, so we could do a poster for each of the Carrows and Snape that say Unsatisfactory No. 1,2, or 3. Oh they would be so livid," said Ginny with an almost gleeful tone.

Neville looked skeptical. "And how are we going to get all of these up without getting caught? If we do it in the night they'll be taken down before anyone sees them."

"We'll have to disguise them somehow so that they won't know what they are" responded Ginny. "When do we see the most posters?"

"The Activity's Fair," piped up Luna, who seem to have gained her composure once again. "It's coming up next week now that Quidditch is settled and the other group leaders have finalized their teamsas well."

"Perfect," replied Ginny. "Now if only we could charm the posters to look like normal posters until something causes a reaction and they'll change."

"Everyone puts their posters up at night," said Luna. "I'm usually out trying to find my things that disappeared during the day in the evenings and every year around this time everyone posts them after they get approval from Professor McGonagall."

"If they go up at night and we need them to stay normal until the next day, why don't we just have them react to sunlight?" asked Neville. "We won't have to do any sneaking around in the middle of the night since the posters will look perfectly normal if we posted them after sunset."

"Brilliant! Keep the ideas coming!" encouraged Ginny. "So who gets spot number one?"

The three of them answered at the same time. Neville said Snape, Ginny said Alecto, and Luna said Amycus. They started to giggle, once again drawing the ire of Madame Pince.

"So the bigger question is, how should we design the posters?" began Ginny. "And then we have to think about a charm that could mask the contents until the sun comes up."

"And we have to get all of the posters approved by the deputy headmaster. Or is it deputy headmistress?" Luna chimed in.

"Sounds like a lot to do," said Neville. "Maybe we should each take one assignment and then meet back up when we have answers. Luna, you seem to know the most about the activities fair, can you ask around and find out what the official procedure is? I think Rionach in Gryffindor is the Gobstones captain, she might be a good person to ask." Luna nodded as though agreeing to her assignment.

"Ginny, you're pretty good at charms, why don't you figure out how to make the posters work?" Neville kept whispering quieter and quieter, feeling as though things were getting really serious now that they had committed to the idea. "And I guess that means I'll be designing the posters." Neville said as an afterthought, suddenly getting slightly nervous. He wasn't the most artistic person, after all.

Ginny gave a smile that was a little more smug than Neville usually saw from her. "Why don't you ask Hannah Abbott to help? I bet she'd enjoy working with you."

Neville missed the hint of teasing that was behind Ginny's word. "Yeah, that's a great idea! Thanks, Ginny!" He said, excited at the prospect of spending time with Hannah.

* * *

Neville found himself more nervous than usual at his Charms lesson, which annoyed Seamus to no end as he kept messing up his heat switch spell (they were supposed to be charming fire to give off cold instead of heat, like the flames in Amycus and Alecto's rooms). Instead of giving off cold, his seemed to keep producing more heat instead of less.

"Geez Neville, you about burned off my eyebrows with that one!" exclaimed Seamus, jumping back from Neville's flame with alarm. "What's your problem, anyway?" Neville, who had been glancing over at Hannah when performing the charm, came back to focus on his partner and gave him a sheepish grin.

"Sorry Seamus," apologized Neville, "I guess this charm is getting the better of me."

To Seamus relief, the class bell rang. Grumbling, he gathered his things and left. Neville thought he would be relieved to hear the bell but felt slightly sick. Asking a girl to spend time with him was not something he had much practice with. Hannah was standing by Ernie, both chatting amiably and gathering their things. Neville took in a huge breath and bounded over before he could talk himself out of it.

"Hannah?" he asked timidly. Both she and Ernie looked up at him, she with a smile and he with an curious gaze.

"I um, I've got this project I'm working on a project and I thought you could help me out," he said.

"What kind of project?" She asked excitedly.

Neville glanced to the front of the room, noticing Daphne Greengrass talking with Professor Flitwick. Hannah seemed to pick up on the hint.

"It's an art project," Neville responding slowly, hoping that was vague enough to answer the question.

"I'd love too!" She replied quickly, excited.

"I'll help, too." Ernie interjected, much to Hannah and Neville's surprise. He looked a little put out at the response from the two of them. "I mean, if this is what I think it is, you'll want the extra help and I'm pretty good at these kinds of things."

Neville tried to mask his disappointment. It's not like he didn't like Ernie, but he was looking forward to the one on one time with Hannah. "Ok," he finally agreed, "let's meet tomorrow afternoon.


	10. Chapter 10: Poster Reveal

**Whew, another long chapter! I wish I was artistic so I could design a copy of the unsatisfactory posters. Unfortunately, even my stick figures look like they've been drawn by a five year old, so guess I'm out of luck on that department.**

**So a few odds and ends. You'll notice that Cormac MacLaggen hasn't shown up since chapter 1. I was originally going to incorporate him into the story line as I think he'd be super fun character to write (he's so obnoxious, I love it!)****, but I forgot the fact that he's older than Harry and would have graduated. Whoops. I wrote him out of the first chapter so now it's just a random Gryffindor student. Also, I found a BIG HUGE MISTAKE in my story when perusing Deathly Hallows for more snippets of what happened at Hogwarts. When Harry, Hermione, and Ron are brought to Malfoy Manor, Narcissa mentions that her son is home for the Easter Holiday. I always had it in my head that Draco skipped out that last year, but the only reason Narcissa would say that he's home for holiday is if he were at school. Yikes, Draco's supposed to be at school. Don't worry, I think I've figured out a way to write him in with a legit reason why he hasn't shown up yet, but we're still several chapters away from that point. All you Draco lovers, rejoice! Draco will get his time in the spotlight. **

**Also random side note, how JK Rowling manages to develop so many characters without leaving any out is a mystery for me. It took me ten chapters just to get Hagrid in! As always, this is all her material except the story itself. I just do this for fun.**

**Finally, thanks to all who read and follow and favorite and comment. You guys are the best! **

* * *

On Saturday Neville, Hannah, and Ernie found each other at lunch and meandered the corridors until the found a secluded classroom on the ground floor near the kitchens and the Hufflepuff common room. The day was gray and a little gloomy, but Neville couldn't help but notice that the weather didn't seem to affect Hannah's happy mood. Ernie walked in the room first, and Neville held out a hand to let Hannah through and was rewarded with a smile.

"Ok, so what's actually going on? It doesn't really have anything to do with art, does it?" Ernie demanded while lowering down into a seat at the front of the classroom. Neville pulled a chair around so that they would be facing each other across the table and Hannah also grabbed a chair and placed it next to Neville, sitting close enough he could touch her with just a hint of movement on his part.

"Sort of. We're going to hang posters around the castle that will have pictures of the Carrows and Snape labeled as 'Unsatisfactory No. 1,2, and 3. They're going to be similar design to the Undesirable posters hanging up in Diagon Alley."

Ernie frowned. "And just how do you suppose we'll get these posters up without anyone noticing? I'm not quite to the point where I can do a Disillusionment Charm and I doubt my prefect status will get me out of this kind of trouble."

"We're going to charm the posters so that they react to sunlight. With the Activities' Fair coming up, posters will go up in the evenings, and so it's a perfect place to hide our charmed posters without bringing suspicion towards any one person hanging the posters." replied Neville.

Ernie looked thoughtful at this. Hannah looked at Neville and said, "How are we going to get all the different student groups together to use our posters, though? Won't they suspect something? And we don't want to get other people in trouble for us."

"We thought about that," said Neville. "If we can get enough posters to represent almost all of the groups, then Snape won't know who to target for punishment because it'll look like someone tricked every group rather than one group acting out on its own."

Hannah looked skeptical. "That still doesn't answer how we'll get everyone to use the special parchment and to make sure the prank doesn't get revealed at the same time."

"Luna's dad is helping us out with special copy parchment. I have master plans of each parchment. When each is placed on a pile of blank copy parchment, it will automatically absorb the information on the master copy. We'll just make sure those copies get handed out to the groups and then signed by whichever Carrow is in charge of approving posters." Neville was pretty confident in the plan he and Luna and Ginny had come up with.

Hannah, though, wasn't convinced. "How do we know the groups won't accidently put their posters out early? Or want to work on their design during the day, when the image is present?"

"Ginny solved that one," Neville admitted. "Luna found out that Alecto wants nothing to do with the project and has pointed out that she will only be willing to sign posters between 7:30 pm and 8:30 pm next Wednesday, two days before the fair. There are several DA members involved in student groups, so they'll make sure their posters are covered. Since they are also connected with other student groups, they'll hand out a few extra sheets after dinner to those groups and pretend they were simply leftover parchment they didn't want to use but also didn't want to go to waste. I think we've got almost all of the 25 student groups covered with every single DA member talking to 3 different groups each."

Neville ducked under the table and grabbed his school bag and set it on the table, pulling out four pieces of parchment. Three were the blank master plans and the fourth was a clipping from the Daily Prophet, a copy of the undesirable posters with Harry's picture walking in and out of the frame looking slightly annoyed to be in the picture. He passed the clipping to Hannah so she could see.

"Ok, so we want the design to look similar to the clipping Hannah is holding. That part is easy," said Neville. "First what we need is to transfer a picture of each person to the parchment, then we can easily add any of the writing we want." Neville reached into his bag and pulled out three copies of the Daily Prophet from August. Ernie looked at them curiously, reaching for one as Hannah grabbed another. Staring up at each of them were the people in question with the headlines announcing their new roles at Hogwarts. Neville scowled at the picture of Alecto sneering up at him. With a quick severing charm, Hannah got each of the pictures out.

"Do you know what spell you want to use to get these on the parchment?" asked Ernie. Neville shook his head no. They hadn't learned anything in class about transferring an image from one medium to another.

"Well, I think it would be best to use an altered Geminio spell," he said casually, still eyeing his picture of Snape and moving it around the blank piece of parchment as though trying to find the perfect spot. "It will cause a copy of the picture to bleed through newspaper clipping and will make an exact copy on the parchment like we want it."

"Do you think you can do it?" replied Neville. Ernie shook his head as though hesitant to say yes.

"Maybe," he admitted. "I was in the newspaper club for a while and watched the editor do it quite a bit my third year. He always showed me the charm but never taught me how to do it myself. Is this the exact spot where we want to the picture to be?" Neville nodded his head and said yes. "Ok, then. Let me try a few things out."

Ernie pulled out his wand and began tapping the parchment while muttering under his breath. After a few unsuccessful attempts, he stood up as though this would help cast the spell, but to no avail. Every few minutes he would sit back down, then stand up, sometimes pacing but constantly tapping the parchment. He was completely lost in his own thoughts, and so Neville turned to talk to Hannah about the midst of the conversation he once again noticed sitting so close he could touch her with the slightest movement of his could catch a fragrance of what Neville thought was chamomile which he only recognized because it happened to be his grandmother's favorite herbal tea. The smell always reminded him of home.

She smiled at him and their eyes met while she continued talking about their latest Herbology assignment. It was like looking at her for the first time, even though he had already spent time with her throughout the last month. Her light brown hair had the undertone of gold and was pulled back yet again in braided pigtails. She laughed quickly and easily while making a joke, flashing a smile with straight white teeth. What Neville noticed the most, though, were her pale blue eyes, warm and friendly and soothing, much like her flowery scent. She was mesmerizing in a different sort of way, like the girl next door.

"I think I got it!" Ernie exclaimed excitedly, snapping Neville out of his thoughts about Hannah as his cheeks turned slightly pink. She had already gotten to her feet, eager to see Ernie's spellwork. He also turned to face the parchment. Ernie had taken the cut out and held it triumphantly in the air, proudly displaying an exact replica of the picture on the larger parchment.

"Excellent!" said Neville with enthusiasm. Ernie had already grabbed another picture and was lining it up in just the right spot when Neville pulled the first parchment with the picture of Snape towards him and Hannah. He shivered slightly at the sight of Snape's cold yet triumphant gaze in the picture taken from the Daily Prophet.

Hannah took out an elaborate quill that had an end more like paintbrush than the typical quill ("I like to dabble with painting," she said, slightly embarrassed as though not ready to admit that fact to anyone). Glancing to and from and original Undesirable poster, she first used pointed strokes without ink to decide exactly where and how to get the block letters just right on top. Neville stayed quiet, content to watch her work. By the time she had completed the top portion, Ernie had already moved onto the third parchment with Alecto Carrow's image. He glanced back and forth, wondering what he should do, when he noticed the description on Harry's poster:

"Contact the Ministry of Magic immediately if you have any information concerning his whereabouts. Failing to report will result in imprisonment."

What kind of message should they be putting on their posters? He glanced out the picture of Snape and couldn't help but wish they had a headmaster who actually looked the part. The greasy, lank black hair that hung around his face really didn't do much for him. Contact the ministry… Why not have the students contact Dumbledore's Army? Isn't now a good time to make younger students aware that they don't have to accept things as they are? He glanced at the signature at the bottom from the director of ministry police. Who should sign their poster? McGonagall? Neville shook his head, knowing it was a bad idea. The last thing he would want would be for her to get kicked out of the school.

"Neville," said Ernie, interrupting his thoughts, "I think we've got the top portion completed on all the posters. What should we do about the descriptions?"

Hannah already had a piece of parchment out, ready to take notes. They both looked at Neville expectantly.

"Well, I guess we should focus on one at a time, and Snape is number one, we can do him first."

They began bouncing ideas off about what made Snape unsatisfactory, from his greasy hair making him look like anything but a headmaster (Neville's idea), that he never really actually taught anything but just had them read from the book (Ernie's suggestion), to the fact that he is so mean he probably kicks puppies for fun (Hannah's suggestion which left Neville and Ernie laughing so hard it was several minutes before they started could focus back on the task at hand). After several writes and rewrites, they settled on the following:

"Contact Dumbledore's Army immediately if you have any information on how to get the grease out of Headmaster Snape's hair. Failure to report will result in streaks left all over the castle for Mr. Filch to clean."

They snickered as Hannah carefully printed the words onto the parchment. With each stroke the paper became more realistic and Neville knew it would catch everyone's attention. Ernie and Neville set out to design a DA logo while they debated on whose name should be the signature on the poster. With a sigh and without looking up from her work, Hannah finally interrupted and declared, "I'm pretty sure Albus Dumbledore should be the name on the paper. We are his army, after all."

With a few responses of "Brilliant!" and "Why didn't I think of that?", the two boys then discussed what his signature even looked like since neither of them had ever seen it. All of their school letters had been signed by Professor McGonagall who had been (and was the rightful) headmistress. Once again Hannah interrupted, but this time a little less confidently.

"I have a copy of his signature," she said quietly. "He sent me a letter last year after I went home. I brought it with me to school this year. I'll go and get it." She stood up, having completed the description of Snape, and walked out of the room before Ernie or Neville could stop her. The air hung thick with silence as neither of them had been alone with the other before.

"Ernie," said Neville, an idea coming to mind, "What kind of flowers does Hannah like?"

Ernie looked up from his doodle of a potential DA logo and gave him a curious look. "I guess I'm not really sure. She's gotten carnations and roses and such from…" he paused as though catching himself, "..from some guys over the years, but she never seem to react to them like any girl would." Ernie looked over Neville as though taking him in for the first time. "Why would you ask?" he said cautiously.

"Oh, I just thought that since she's done a lot for the DA this year I thought it would be nice to do something to thank her. I figured every girl likes flowers and since it's the one thing I actually know something about it could be ... nice." he finished somewhat lamely. "I've just never bought a girl anything like that, so I thought you'd have a sense on if she would like it or not."

"She does like plants," Ernie admitted begrudgingly, as though not wanting to admit the information to Neville. He was leaning back in his chair, arms crossed and eyes narrowed a bit.

"Who likes plants?" asked Hannah curiously, already back from the Hufflepuff common room. Both boys jumped a little and Neville stammered out Professor Sprout's name.

"Well of course she likes plants, she's the Herbology teacher," she replied as though that statement were obvious.

Wanting to change the subject, Neville asked, "How did you get back so quickly? You were barely gone ten minutes."

"Oh, our common room is just around the corner," she replied, to which Ernie blurted out, "Hannah! Don't tell him that, we're not supposed to give away the common room locations!" She rolled her eyes but smiled.

"It not like he can get in anyway," she responded. She handed Ernie the piece of parchment hesitantly. "Dumbledore's signature is at the bottom."

And so back to work they went, though they couldn't help but admire their work once the first poster was complete. In Neville's opinion they had done excellent work and knew that these posters would be hit. They began hashing out the descriptions for the Carrows, thoroughly enjoying verbally abusing the two siblings .

For Alecto, they decided on the following:

"Contact Dumbledore's Army immediately if you have any information about the whereabouts of her intelligence as it appears to be missing from her rich pureblood inheritance."

For Amycus, they went a different route.

"Contact Dumbledore's Army immediately if you find yourself wheezing like an old bagpipe. You could have Amycusitis and are in danger of becoming a full blown arse if not treated immediately."

By the time the descriptions were printed on and everything was completed it was late afternoon. Neville began gathering his things and the two others did the same. Finally he started rolling up the posters.

"Wait," said Hannah. "They still have the images on them."

"Yeah, they won't disappear until we cast the charm on them to make it appear in sunlight," Neville replied. "As long as I don't get caught with them on the walk back it'll be fine, though."

Hannah then stood right next to Neville and leaned forward over the posters, pulling out her wand. While she cast a spell over the papers, Neville caught a hint of chamomile and he smiled knowingly. He knew exactly what flowers to send to her.

"There," she said, "now if someone catches you it'll just look like spare parchment. All you have to do is a revealing spell and everything will come back good as new." Neville thanked her and they stood up together, beginning to discuss nifty charms they liked and had learned outside of class. Ernie got up and followed the two of them, unhappy with the latest turn of events.

* * *

Neville found himself once again sprawled out in the Gryffindor common room soaking up the warmth of the fire while reading a book on magical plants in the Amazon, a book Professor Sprout had loaned him. At the moment, though, he was merely enjoying the peace and quiet by the fire as most students were still lingering in the Great Hall for dinner. Ginny snuck up on him, her excitement contagious.

"Great, you're here, let's have a look at those posters!" She must have just walked in from Quidditch as she held her broom against her shoulder and Neville noted a group of tired students trailed behind her, each heading towards their dormitories. Neville smiled and pulled at the posters.

"Not bad, eh?" he said proudly, rolling out the first poster. Ginny gave him an annoyed look.

"There's nothing on it."

"Oh, right, Hannah put a charm on it to hide the contents when I brought it up," he said sheepishly. "I'm not sure what the countercharm is, though."

"Well, Hermione taught me one forever ago. Let's see if it works. Aparecium!" Sure enough, the ink began to slowly crawl around the parchment and final result of the posters came in full view. Ginny broke out into a wide grin.

"Brilliant," she muttered to herself, "Utterly brilliant. Oh are we going to get people's attention with this!" She turned on the spot and ran up to her dormitory before Neville could comment on the poster. He smiled to himself as he waited for Ginny to return, which took next to no time. In her hands were three separate piles of parchment, which she dropped onto the table closest to them. Without asking and extremely excited, she took the revealed poster and placed it on top of one of the piles.

The ink on the master sheet looked as though it were bleeding through to the other papers, and as Neville looked closer, it was almost like he could see all the way down to the last paper. With a tap of her wand, the stack went back to normal, and Ginny tore off the first sheet to see an exact copy underneath.

"Cool," said Neville. He grabbed another poster, imitated Ginny's spell, and placed it on the second pile while Ginny did it for the third.

"It's too bad Luna can't be here to see this part." said Neville.

"I know, but I think she's seen this process before. From what she's told me, her dad prefers to use an enchanted printing press, but when she had the chance to visit the Daily Prophet Headquarters years ago she saw this process. When she was a kid her dad would buy this parchment for her so she could make her own copies of the Quibbler without interfering with the actual copy ready for print."

Ginny set to work immediately on charming the posters to be revealed only in sunlight. She continued muttering to herself and Neville caught the occasional "where's Hermione when I need her…" comment. Neville was content to sit back and let her work his thoughts meandering this we and that. He couldn't help but let his mind drift towards the thought of giving Hannah flowers. The idea of approaching her with a bouquet in his hand, though, sounded incredibly terrifying, especially since other people would more than likely be around to witness it.

"Ginny," he said distractedly, "what's the best way to send someone something without gathering too much attention to yourself?"

Ginny replied offhandedly, "just send them an owl," and went back to focusing on her charm.

Neville smacked his forehead lightly. Of course that was the perfectly obvious answer. He could easily pick one of the barn owls the school lent out and attach a small bouquet of flowers to be sent. He could even write a little thank you note to go with it.

"There!" said Ginny triumphantly. "I think that's it." Neville glanced over and saw one of the stacks was blank.

"How do you know it worked?" he asked curiously.

"I guess we'll just have to wait until morning," she replied, looking out of the closest window and noting the stars just beginning to appear. She went to work on the other two, moving much faster now that she had worked out the details of the charm, and not a moment too soon as the dinner rush was starting to come back from the Great Hall. She scooped up the stacks of now blank paper in her arms and with a wink, went back up to her dormitory.

* * *

On Monday at Herbology Neville had hung back to talk to Professor Sprout about locating chamomile flowers since they weren't kept anywhere in the gardens. Professor Sprout gave him a curious smile and said she could have some sent in with her next order of dragon dung but that it wouldn't arrive until Wednesday afternoon. He thanked her profusely, excited with the idea of surprising Hannah and hoping she would appreciate the gesture.

Tuesday passed uneventfully, and Wednesday night was the day the posters would go up. Neville was nervous about the plan, especially since it depended on so many different people passing out posters without making it a big deal. As he sat down to dinner, he noticed a few blank parchments trade hands with several people, including a few Slytherins much to his pleasure. Rionach O'Neal, a Gryffindor seventh year and head of the Gobstones team, sat herself down next to Neville and she was joined with Fay Dunbar, another Gryffindor seventh year.

"Ok boss, mission accomplished," she said with a smile. He looked up from his plate of steak and potatoes and faced Rionach.

"What? Oh, right, good job on getting everything out. Do you think anyone suspects?"

"Naw, the other DA members were really smooth about passing out their extra copies. We even got some Slytherin folks to take extra parchment thanks to Luca in Ravenclaw. You'd think with as sly as he is he'd in Slytherin himself. Don't worry boss, we got it covered."

"Why do you keep calling me boss?" Neville replied, somewhat irritated.

"Everyone thinks you're in charge of this," responded Rionach. "And you do play the part so well."

"Look, you can tell everyone that Ginny, Luna and I act as a team and that we all have a stake in this. Got it?"

"Ok, boss," she said with a playful smirk and got back up, much to Fay's chagrin as she had just filled her plate. They both walked off to a separate part of the table to join Parvati and Lavender. Ginny came and took the now vacant seat.

"Well, here goes nothing," Ginny whispered nervously, starting to fill her plate with food. "I know the posters work, but are you sure we closed all the loopholes?"

"There's nothing that can tie those posters to any of us, and we know that the list of DA members was never revealed by that girl with pimples thanks to Hermione's hex. It'll be ok," he said, trying to reassure himself as well as Ginny.

* * *

Thursday morning Neville woke up with a start. As excited as he was to see the effect of their planning, he was slightly nervous about the outcome. Even as he assured Ginny last night that things would go smoothly, he was still concerned about the after effects. He knew Snape would take it out on the students, but he had no idea how. Staying in his dormitory, though, wouldn't answer any of those questions. He changed quickly into his school robes, giving himself a look over in the mirror, he felt good about his appearance. This morning held another reason to be nervous after all.

The flowers had come in just as Professor Sprout had said. He had borrowed a bit of yellow ribbon from Luna and had arranged the flowers in what he thought was a nice way. Now it was his job to sneak out the door without disturbing Seamus (it was highly unlikely he would wake up based on how loudly Seamus was snoring). Off he went to the Owlery in the quiet of the morning when he passed by one of cork boards containing all of the club recruitment posters. He couldn't help but smile when he noticed that almost every poster was in the unsatisfactory image and yet somehow Alecto Carrow's signature shone through. He had to give credit to Ginny, she knew her stuff. With a grin, he turned up to the stairs of the Owlery, bouquet in hand. At the top he had an unexpected guest join him.

"Hagrid!" Neville said surprised yet delighted. "What are you doing up here so early?"

"Might be asking the same of you," he said with a smile. "I was just checking on a few owls that needed some extra attention." Hagrid's eye caught the flowers in Neville's hand. "I take it you're sendin' a delivery this mornin'?"

Neville blushed slightly, "Yeah, it's just a thank you for a friend." Hagrid nodded while raising his eyebrows as though suggesting he knew that the recipient was more than a friend. Embarrassed, he quickly convinced an owl down and placed the bouquet in the owl's open beak and tied the note to his foot. Hagrid couldn't help but give him side glances with a knowing smile.

"I'm sure any of the girls in the school would be happy to receive 'em," he said encouragingly. Neville gave him a grateful smile and said his goodbyes, hurrying down the stairs. If he was this embarrassed with just Hagrid knowing what was going on, he couldn't imagine what he had felt if he had tried handing the flowers to Hannah directly.

He was debating on whether to go back to the common room or if he should head down for breakfast when he heard the pitter patter of pawprints followed by the wheezing of Filch.

"Caught in the act!" he exclaimed the ragged breaths. "You're the one who changed all of the posters!" Neville stood frozen to the spot, realizing he was standing right next to the posters.

"What?" Neville sputtered out. "Me? I was just in the owlery sending a letter!"

"Convenient time to send a letter when no one else was up. What would be so important that you would have to get up this early to send out a letter?" Filch said accusingly. Mrs. Norris kept wrapping herself around Filch in an almost distracting way.

Neville turned slightly red. No way he was going to admit to Filch he was sending flowers to a girl.

"What's all the commotion?" came Hagrid's voice from the foot of the Owlery staircase. Neville breathed a sigh of relief.

"Nothing that concerns you," sneered Filch, "I simply caught this student in the act of committing a crime."

"Since when is sendin' a letter a crime at Hogwarts?" replied Hagrid testily. "Snape got a new rule that the rest of us teachers don' know about?"

"He wasn't sending a letter, he was changing all the posters to look like this!" Filch yelled, pointing the poster next to Neville, which happened to be a picture of Snape.

"Don' know who done that, but I can tell yeh that Neville's been with me up in the Owlery. Go get yourself someone else to blame, Filch."

Filch puffed up like he was going to argue, but stood back slightly under Hagrid's rigid gaze. With a huff he turned and went back down the hallway, Mrs. Norris at his heels. When he was out of sight, Hagrid turned to read the poster, guffawing slightly.

"Don' want to know if you're involved with this," said Hagrid, "but it's mighty clever. Might want to borrow one of these for my hut." He smiled at Neville. "Best be off to breakfast where people can see you're not causin' trouble. Come on now," he said, steering Neville towards the Great Hall. Hagrid went up to the teacher's table and Neville to the far end with the rest of Gryffindors. Most of the morning traffic was steadily streaming in, and whispers about the posters were all the rage. Every person that passed by him was commenting on which was their favorite.

Neville sat himself next to Ginny in the middle of the table, who was quietly eating a bowl of oatmeal and trying to suppress a smirk. She didn't say anything, but she really didn't need to. It was almost like the entire prank was like sharing a private joke between the two of them. As Neville began filling his plate with sausages, the owls swooped in, ready to deliver the morning mail. He couldn't help but notice the school owl he had selected gracefully enter and head towards the end of the Hufflepuff table closest to the door, right in Neville's view. He saw the look of surprise on Hannah's face and Susan whispering excitedly next to her. She then shook her head and said something in return while opening Neville's letter. He couldn't help but notice how bright her smile was this morning. Hannah finished the card and looked up and down the table and upon finding Neville, her smile grew even larger. He blushed realizing he was caught watching her, but gave her a small wave, which she returned eagerly.

What Neville didn't notice during all of this (as his was understandably distracted) was that Alecto Carrow had burst through the doors and went straight to Snape at the head of the table, clearly livid about her morning discovery. They began discussing quickly, Snape continuously urging Alecto to keep her voice down even though she was ready to scream to the high heavens her hatred of the students of Hogwarts. It began to draw the attention of the students closest to them, several of which began to scoot as far away as they could in case Alecto's ire was redirected at them.

Snape eventually persuaded Alecto to sit in her seat next to him, and he stood up. The hall slowly quieted down as people began to realize that their headmaster was standing and waiting to address them.

"It appears that several of you have too much time on your hands," Snape began, voice icy with a lingering hint of bitterness. "I will not tolerate this kind of behavior, and should the culprits involved in this fake organization be found," his eyes scanned the room, "you will be punished. Severely." Several of the younger students shuddered at this, but Neville couldn't help but notice several of the older students met his eyes in brazen defiance. "It also comes to my attention that a plan of this type could not have been accomplished by just a few students, given that every student group was affected by this immature display. Therefore, all groups will be punished equally. Groups of three or more will hereby be banned from meeting together." A nervous chatter rose among the students. "That means all Quidditch teams, student clubs, social gatherings, and even study groups will no longer be tolerated. You can thank Dumbledore's Army for the newest rule." He then turned on the spot and walked out of the Great Hall by the side door and Neville could almost see that cold anger coming from his demeanor. Once at the door Alecto burst out of her seat, clearly agitated by the fact that no physical punishment was being demanded of the students, and bulleted straight for the door, following Snape's trail. Once she left (Amycus being nowhere to be found), the Great Hall burst into noise, everyone wanting to discuss the newest rules. Even the teachers began talking amongst themselves and Neville noticed several of them chuckling amongst themselves.

Ginny breathed a huge sigh of relief. "That's all the punishment we get?" She said astounded.

"I guess so, though I wasn't sure what to expect." Neville replied.

"But that's almost tame compared to some punishments we've seen. Even Umbridge had more drastic changes than that when something of this magnitude happened," she said quietly. Neville just shrugged his shoulders in response and went back to his breakfast. He couldn't help but think it was a pretty good start to his morning, even if that meant planning the next DA prank (which was guaranteed to happen) would be exponentially more tricky.


	11. Chapter 11: Dark Arts

**1,500 views in the first month! So exciting! Thank you to everyone who has read, reviewed, favorited, and followed this story. I feel like I've written quite a bit and we're just into the first week of October in the story, there is plenty more to come. As always, comments are always appreciated.**

* * *

With the new ban on groups of three or more students, the Gryffindor common room became much more crowded than before and became eerily similar to the Umbridge era (though noticeably less fun without Fred and George's product testing). On occasion Ginny, Luna, and Neville would meet together in the library and would actually be studying, but they had to stretch out those moments as prefects and, much to their chagrin, the Carrows would be found supervising the library, especially in the evenings. Typically they only had to worry when someone affiliated with Slytherin was on the watch but the last thing Neville wanted was to draw attention to them. And so they communicated either by word of mouth or by coin which most every previous member of the DA had found. Luna had been working on making extra copies of the coin for the latest additions but had no luck in replicating them as of yet. Neville always knew Hermione was incredibly clever and top of the class but it was moments like these that he realized that she was infinitely more capable than most adults in the wizarding world.

Neville's classwork had really started picking up and he was beginning to feel the pressure even with only four classes. Several of his classmates that were more anxiety prone had already been given a calming draught to help with their nerves, which surprised Neville considering his NEWT tests felt like they would never come. After all, Halloween was still several weeks away, not to mention they still needed to get through Christmas and Easter Holidays. Taking a deep breath, he made it his goal not to freak out until after the Christmas season. That seemed perfectly reasonable and yet it didn't alleviate the amount of work he needed to do to finish his Charms homework.

Everyone seemed fairly pleased with their teacher's performances this year. Potions had, surprisingly, become a favorite of most people's with the fun and playful manner of Professor Slughorn while people begrudgingly appreciated Professor McGonagall's exceptionally high expectations for student performance. Even Hagrid was starting to get a little bit of a following now that he had been a teacher for several years and had finally sorted out age appropriate lesson plans. Well, maybe not exactly age appropriate, but in comparison to his first few years it was leaps and bounds of an improvement. The only real exception to this was the Carrows. Their classes were a bit of a joke to every single student except Crabbe and Goyle. Even the Slytherins were known to whisper amongst themselves their dislike of the class structure though they would never admit it to anyone outside of their House. Alecto spent the majority of her classes spewing hate filled rants against muggles and muggle borns and Neville had developed the habit of daydreaming in class. Since their homework was all based on essay, Neville would mostly write snarky commentary about the stupidity of the writing prompt with the help of the rest of the Gryffindors. After every class Ginny always commented on how it was surprising they had escaped detention yet again, and secretly Neville agreed with her. With every passing day Alecto's dislike of Neville grew but something seemed to be holding her back from punishing him with detentions. The only person Neville could think of that would be able to hold her back would be Severus Snape and fat chance he'd ever stick up for Neville. He knew there must be another explanation, but he didn't have a clue what that could be.

Amycus' class was much worse than Muggle Studies as they had to learn spellwork. Somehow Amycus managed to take even the most basic spells and make each one feel corrupt. After the fateful stuffed animal assignment, Neville decided he could care less about passing the class and would never compromise his standards again. Typically he sat in the back, arms crossed defiantly while Amycus screeched out malicious punishments he would receive if he would not participate, but Neville always sat there unruffled. He found he was terrible at producing Amycus' favorite spells, those clearly marked for dark magic, even when he gave a half hearted effort at the beginning of the year. Between classes he had mentioned this to Luna.

"What kind of a wand do you have?" she had asked. "That can influence your ability to produce certain types of spells."

"It's cherry and unicorn hair, 13 inches long," Neville responded, following Luna's lead and jumping over the trick step on one of the staircases.

"That's an interesting combination. I can't tell you much about the wood type, but some Care of Magical Creatures books talk about how the animal characteristics transfer to wand cores. Unicorns are the symbol for purity in the magical world and many of the magical properties associated with unicorn hair and blood are restorative in nature. It would make sense, then, that a wand made of unicorn hair would struggle with producing Dark Magic, especially if the caster is someone like you who is vehemently opposed to such magic. Guess that means you're not cut out to be a death eater," she said, chuckling slightly at her little joke. "Of course, this is all just my thoughts on the matter, but I tend to have pretty good thoughts when it comes to these things."

Neville hadn't spent much time before this thinking about his wand, but after his conversation with Luna he had been prone to give it more thought. It all made sense, the more he thought about it. The wand did seem to be a better fit for him than his father's wand, as it felt a little more graceful than his first wand. Considering all that he had suffered because of dark magic, it was only logical that he would be drawn to the core type that struggled the most with casting such spells.

He couldn't help but think about this while sitting in the back of Dark Arts with Amycus once again. It had been just a week since the posters had gone up. Alecto had given him particular grief over the prank in her class. It was though she suspected him of being involved, but since she had no proof, she could only take out her frustrations on him. Neville simply waved her off as a crazy old bat anyway, so she could yell profanities all she wanted without bothering him. What he wasn't sure about, however, was Amycus' response to the stunt. Alecto and Amycus were incredibly similar, especially in their opinions, and he was sure he would get similar treatment as he received in Muggle Studies.

His classmates slowly filed in, filling the seats in the back and leaving the front of the room completely available for Crabbe and Goyle. For the first time since they first set foot in the castle, the pair had actually begun to excel in a subject, much to the alarm of the rest of the seventh years. It was one thing to see fully grown death eaters, it was another to witness the birth of such an individual, and there was no doubt in anyone's mind where Crabbe and Goyle were heading once their time at Hogwarts was complete.

The students talked amongst themselves nervously, looking about and wondering where their teacher was. Amycus was no where to be seen, and so they sat for several minutes unsure of what to do. Some gave hopeful whispers that his lack of presence meant class was cancelled, but Neville knew better than to hope that. He tensed and his gut told him that something wasn't right about this situation.

After ten minutes of speculation, Amycus burst into the room followed by a small second year, much to everyone's surprise. They all leaned forward to see who was standing in front of them. Neville's eyes grew wide as he recognized the boy as Hufflepuff student who had that particularly nasty incident with Pansy Parkinson the first week of school. He looked over to Pansy on the other side of the room, her face a mixture of dislike and a sneer, as though she could feel the moment of her revenge coming.

"Today," began Amycus, drawing all eyes towards him, "we will jump slightly ahead in our coursework as a unique opportunity has presented itself." Many of the people around him shivered at the statement. Neville shifted his gaze back to the boy. He hadn't really had a chance to take him in while confronting Pansy, but here he was, looking too scared to even cry.

He was smaller than average but was already quite handsome with well defined features. His olive skin was well matched to his chocolate brown hair and large brown eyes. He held his hands behind his back, probably wringing them tightly just as Neville did when he was scared as a child. The boy kept his eyes facing down, breathing in ragged breaths and biting his bottom lip. He stood rigid as though someone had cast a full body bind curse on him.

Neville's attention on the boy, however, was interrupted forcefully as he unwilling caught Amycus' next sentence.

"The Cruciatus Curse is one of the most effective methods for convincing an individual to submit to your will." A look of horror spread around the room. Even the Pansy looked uncomfortable with the turn of events. It was one thing to bully another student and use minor hexes, but an unforgivable curse? Based on the reactions of the Slytherins, most of them were not ready to commit to that level.

Amycus continued on, discussing the details of casting the curse and how to make it most effective. He lovingly described the mindset an individual must possess in order to reach their full potential in casting the curse. He described how the individual has to take joy in causing pain in others, to feel a rush of dominance in making someone suffer excruciating pain because of your actions. It took everything in Neville's power to not clasp his hands over his ears to block out the wretched speech of the so called teacher in front of him. What Neville was becoming more concerned with, however, was the fact that the second year was here at all. He knew that he was to be the recipient of the curse, but what did this kid do to deserve such a punishment?

"And so this leads us back to our visitor," he said, pointing to the boy next to him. "Mr. Cyrus Ward. A Hufflepuff boy masquerading as a Gryffindor," he sneered while leering at several of the Gryffindor seventh years, his eyes finding Neville's in the end. "In fact, there's one particular Gryffindor he wanted to emulate. So much so, he even copycatted an act by Longbottom back there." Neville caught all of the glances of his classmates, as though they were unsure who to keep their attention on.

"During his Muggle Studies lesson yesterday morning, he decided to shout out incorrect information about Muggles, claiming to know something since he's a half-blood." Amycus shook his head. "Why you would parade around that fact is beyond me." The boy flinched at these words, clearly scared out of his wits.

"And what did he end his little tirade with? Why, a declaration that he stands with Neville Longbottom and will defend the muggles and mudbloods!" He gave a wheezy laugh after this, but no one thought it was funny. It took him a few minutes of laughter to gain control of himself.

"Since our brave little Hufflepuff wants to be like Neville Longbottom, Alecto and I thought it would be fitting for him to receive the same punishment. However, as I am a teacher, I thought it would be an excellent lesson for my NEWT students," he said, grinning with a malicious smile. He then turned to Pansy Parkinson, who shifted nervously under his gaze.

"I believe our Head Girl would be the perfect person to demonstrate the effectiveness of this spell given your past history with him," Amycus said softly. Everyone turned to face Pansy, who had flushed, but not with pleasure. She stood up slowly, grabbing her wand, and stood across the room from Cyrus. Amycus started giving Pansy some pointers on how to cast the spell, and with a nod, he stood back. Pansy took a deep breath, as though steeling herself for the choice she was about to make.

"NO!" Neville cried, bursting out of his seat and drawing all attention to himself. He couldn't let this happen to Cyrus.

"No, Longbottom?" replied Amycus, his wheezy becoming labored as though he were overcome with anger. "You think you can just interrupt our lesson like this?"

Neville's mind whirled with thoughts. He only had a few precious moments to get Cyrus safely out of this situation, and he knew there was only one choice to make. Amycus was determined to punish someone and Neville doubted he cared who that individual was.

"You said Cyrus was just repeating my behaviors, right?" Neville said, reaching for the right words. Amycus let out a low growl, indicating his patience was shorter than Neville had hoped for. "So, you're punishing him for something that I caused. Those were my behaviors and my decisions, so shouldn't you punish the root of the problem instead of the after effects if you really want your point to be made?"

Amycus looked at him curiously, a slow grin began to creep across his face. "Are you telling me," he spoke, "that you are volunteering to take his punishment?"

Tension hung in the air like a humid summer's day. Everyone had turned to face Neville,some with apprehension, others with amazement. The moments between felt like an eternity, but there was no question in Neville's mind what needed to be done.

"Yes," he said quietly. "I will take his punishment for him."

Amycus looked gleeful at the thought, as though this had been his desire all along. "Then come up here, boy, and let's see what happens under everyone's spell. If you can't stand the pain, then we'll just go back to our original target."

Neville stood up, squaring his shoulders and holding his head high even though he was trembling fearfully on the inside. His only solace was knowing that Amycus would not be casting the spell. He gave a nod to Cyrus before standing in front of him and the boy gave him a look of wonderment and gratefulness.

Pansy was frozen to her spot, gazing at Neville with a mixture of loathing and uncertainty. The moments crept by with Pansy thoughts whirling about, wondering if she actually wanted to be this type of person. But seeing Neville there, cool and collected and defiant made her angrier than she expected. She raised her wand and shouted, "Crucio!"

Neville took the spell front on, and yet the effect was not nearly as strong as he had experienced under the Carrows. It only caused about twenty seconds of mild discomfort, like someone pricking his skin with thousands of needles before the pain went away. Amycus scowled at Pansy and barked, "Again!"

She complied, caught off guard by the command. Once again he felt a short burst of pain, like the needles were digging in farther, but it left quickly and he could stand just fine. Pansy looked unsettled, shook her head in defeat, and sat down at her desk before Amycus could even comment. He looked angrier than ever at her actions.

"Zabini! Come up and show some leadership," he shouted. Blaise slowly got up and sauntered effortlessly to the front though his face had a slightly ashen look to it. He and Neville stood there, looking each other eye to eye, and Neville just knew that Blaise wanted nothing to do with this. This was only to preserve his face in front of the other Slytherins, his heart wasn't in it. This was exactly what Hannah had talked about earlier on.

With a half hearted attempt, Blaise cast the spell, and Neville felt a tingling sensation across his body, like when your foot falls asleep and you put your weight on it. Amycus looked more furious than ever, but Blaise just shrugged his shoulders as though he were too cool to care and sat back down. Amycus began calling everyone up to the front. The Slytherins were split between half hearted attempts like Blaise or legitimate tries. Every other house point blank refused with the exception of one Ravenclaw student, followed by screeching from Amycus and points being deducted from their house. Finally Crabbe got up, deciding he wanted a turn at that exact moment. He gave a hard gaze at Neville, as though focusing all the energy he could muster, and yelled out the curse.

The pain hit him like a jolt, taking Neville by surprise and leaving him breathless. He leaned over panting, and Crabbe gave a smile he usually only reserved when surprised with a dessert.

"Finally," Amycus wheezed, "a capable student. Again!" Buoyed up by his first success, Crabbe immediately cast another before Neville could prepare himself, and this time it felt less like a jolt and more like the real thing, lasting for a full minute this time. Neville fell to his knees but gritted his teeth, determined not to let out a scream from his lips.

As soon as the pain stopped, however, he heard Amycus yell again and the pain came back. Neville let out a cry of pain as he could no longer contain. His housemates stood up, concerned and unsure of how to stop what they saw in front of them. Others looked on in horror, hands clasped over their mouths. Cyrus stood behind Neville, mortified. It was as though he could not process the image in front of him.

"Excellent, Crabbe, most excellent!" He chattered away singing Crabbe's praises as he described how to fine tune his spellwork. Neville was simply trying to catch his breath when he heard words that shot ice through his heart. "Here, let me demonstrate for you…"

Neville, still kneeling, looked up into Amycus' face just as he pointed his wand to him.

"Cruc-" he began, but was interrupted most unexpectedly.

"AMYCUS!" yelled a voice from the entryway, a voice that was cold yet assertive. Everyone, including Amycus, turned to see Severus Snape, headmaster of the school, bounding his way toward the front, his anger clear for all to see.

Dismissing Crabbe back to his seat, he grabbed Amycus' shoulder and turned him away from the students, whispering vehemently. Neville could only catch glimpses of the conversation.

"What have I told you?..." Snape began, his whispering lower. "...Pureblood students will not…."

"He volunteered…. He's the source…. you know what I've been assigned to teach…. Are you saying the Dark Lord is wrong?…." Amycus whispered back mutinously.

"You're not listening to all He said…. Your stupidity will not impress….. Get your act together…." Snape breathed back, eyes glancing back at Neville. He said a few more words under his breath for only Amycus to hear and, startling everyone in the class who had leaned forward to catch the conversation, he turned around and yelled, "Everyone out, now! Your class is dismissed." People scrambled down to gather their things. Snape turned to face the boys. Neville was standing defensively in front of Cyrus.

"Ward, get back to your common room. Longbottom," he said, eyes meeting Neville's for the first time. "My office. Immediately." He then turned to face Amycus, talking once more.

Cyrus ducked out of Neville's shadow and bolted for the door. Neville stood there, slightly confused. Since Snape had superseded the natural order and bypassed the role of being deputy headmaster, would he have been able to gain access to Dumbledore's old office? Or was his situation like Umbridge, who had to stay in her original office because she was not recognized as the true headmaster of the school.

"Umm…. Professor Snape," Neville stuttered, forgetting to call him by the title headmaster, "where is your office?"

Snape turned to the boy that gave him a look that clearly expressed his feelings toward Neville. "Seventh floor, gargoyle statue, password is wormwood," stated Snape slowly as though he were talking to an idiot and was unsure that Neville would be able to retain the information. "I will be there shortly. I have a few words to share with Amycus." With as shudder Neville moved to gather his things and quickly exited the room, leaving the two to their discussion.

He entered the hall and worked his way up towards the seventh floor, still unsure of where exactly to go. After all, he had never been to the headmaster's office in all of his years of schooling. The most trouble he had ever gotten into was in his first year when he had been caught wandering the halls after hours to tell Harry and Hermione about Malfoy's dragon prank. Even then he had been sent to McGonagall's office and that had been bad enough.

After a quick walk through the castle, Neville found his way to the seventh floor and managed to locate the statue Snape had mentioned. It leapt aside at the password and Neville stepped on the spiraling staircase. He paused at the great wooden door in front of him, unsure if he should enter, but knowing Snape would be annoyed if he stood on the doorstep waiting for him. He pushed the door open and gazed inside.

Once again dark curtains covered the windows (Neville couldn't help but wonder what it was with death eaters and dark curtains), blocking out the light and making the room feel eerily similar to Snape's Potion's room in the dungeons, albeit slightly warmer. He gazed around at the portraits, stopping underneath Phineas Nigellus when he spotted a glittering sword in a case. He gazed at it curiously as it felt out of place with its ruby encrusted handle and rich silver blade. There was an inscription on the handle, but it was too small to see without moving closer and the case prevented him from doing so. He turned to go farther into the room, but stopped, frozen in place when he saw the portrait behind the desk.

Albus Dumbledore stood looking at him, his gaze a mixture of lighthearted curiosity.

"I do believe you are the first student to enter Professor Snape's office," he said matter of factly. "You must be causing a bit of a ruckus amongst the students." He gave him a knowing smile that less stern and more playful in nature.

"Oh, hi Professor Dumbledore," Neville said shyly, unsure of what to say. He had spoken but a few words to the former headmaster when he was living, and yet now he was to have a conversation with his portrait. "I suppose things are a bit lively, but no more so than what is happening everywhere else," he replied, not sure if he should admit if he had every intention to make life as miserable for Snape and the Death Eaters as possible.

"And what is this I hear of the return of Dumbledore's Army?" Dumbledore asked inquisitively while the portraits around him fluttered their eyes open, deciding they would rather attentively listen than fake sleep any longer.

"Err…" Neville stammered. How was he to respond to that? "Well, we stood behind you in my fifth year, and our feelings haven't changed. You always stood up for the rights of others and for the protection of this school." Neville shrugged his shoulders. "It just made sense that your name would be the one to carry us through times like this. Even though you're not here with us physically, you represent everything we still choose to stand for." Neville blushed, embarrassed at the thought of giving a speech to Dumbledore about carrying on his legacy considering they had barely spoken when he had lived, but some things had to be said.

Dumbledore raised his hand to eyes and said a quiet thank you to Neville. The warmth of the moment left quickly as soon as the door opened and Snape came through, stopping at his desk and facing Neville, standing rather than sitting.

"Mr. Longbottom, I'm sure you know why you're here," Snape said slowly.

"Ummm…." Neville glanced around and caught Dumbledore shaking his head no, as though telling him to say as little as possible. "Actually, I don't."

Snape rolled his eyes. "Opposing teachers, landing yourself in detention, encouraging others to act out," he paused and then stared into Neville's eyes, "leading a rag tag band of students to misbehave."

Neville simply stood there, praying to high heaven that his poker face was good enough to fool Snape.

"Not your usual style, Longbottom. Then again, you have always been close to Potter. I suppose you decided to take up his mantle now that he's off on his own escapades?"

It was Neville's turn to look at him with cold eyes. Here in front of him was the man who had caused him the greatest fear, pain, and embarrassment during his time as a student. Neville stared angrily into Snape's dark eyes hoping to convey every spiteful thought he had ever had of this headmaster to him just by looking at him. No more would he be bullied by him. Neville said nothing for several minutes.

"Let me warn you," said Snape, beginning to round the corner to face Neville head on, "if you choose to continue in this manner, choose to be as arrogant and attention seeking as Potter, yo will find yourself in the most unfortunate circumstances."

Neville continued to stare down Snape, feeling intense anger for the man in front of him. Snape finally turned and said, "You are dismissed."

Having no desire to stay, Neville quickly retreated to the doorway and down the staircase. He didn't stop until he made it to the end of the hallway. He was quite alone as everyone else was in class. He stopped for a moment, resting his hand on a banister and heaved out a great long sigh. Today had been a long day and Neville was glad the worst of it was over.


	12. Chapter 12: Still Recruiting

**Guys, I am so sorry it's been forever and a half since I last posted. I got slammed at work and then this chapter and I fought and fought and fought about what should be written. Anyway, it's good to be back, and I'll try and get back on schedule with posting every week.**

**To all the new followers, welcome aboard! Your comments and feedback is always appreciated.**

* * *

Once again Neville found himself as the object of everybody's curiosity. Wherever he went, he was followed by stares and whispers. The younger students looked awed and intimidated whenever he walked by, while the older students looked on in amazement as though unable to believe this was the same Neville Longbottom they had grown up with. Even the teachers would give him appraising looks as he walked by their classrooms. It was almost as if everyone was seeing Neville for the first time, and all of the attention was a bit unnerving. Neville's thoughts drifted back to Harry and he wondered how he had ever managed to come out fairly normal while under this kind of scrutiny (and then some). As for him, he liked to escape to some of his quiet retreats when he needed a break from everyone.

The Saturday after Dark Arts was particularly wet and rainy, leaving Neville with no desire to brave the outdoors and hide out in the greenhouses (his favorite retreat by far). The library was packed with students as they had no clubs to attend, no quidditch to enjoy, and foul weather keeping them cooped up inside. It was also one of the few places where more than three people could meet together without raising too much suspicion if they could brave the glares from Madam Pince, that is. She seemed to grow more and more frustrated with the rising popularity of the library and seemed to make it her mission to discourage as many people from spending time in the library this year as possible. At first Neville and Ginny created ludicrous conspiracies about her history as a potential death eater, but Luna gently reminded them that she wasn't really aligned with anything evil, just that her first priority had always been a perfectly kept library. So ended the theories and Ginny and Neville had and they moved on to other crazy theories about the Hogwarts staff (Ginny favored the silliness that would come from a McGonagall/Flitwick pairing while Neville preferred to discuss why the Fat Friar became a ghost).

Neville had found himself meandering the halls that afternoon with no real destination in mind, much to Filch's chagrin when he ran into him. Shaking him off, Neville continued his way through the main floor when he caught sight of Cyrus at the end of the hallway. He raised his arm up to wave hi, but Cyrus had his head down and looked like he was rushing off hurriedly to somewhere unknown. Neville thought he would just turn back and find an empty classroom to practice his Charms homework, but he hesitated. There was something about the way the boy's shoulders were slumped forward that led Neville to believe he should check up on him. Walking down the hall and around the corner, he saw Cyrus ducking into one of the boy's lavatories, actually a rather unpopular one as it was a favorite of Moaning Myrtle and she would often appear at the most inopportune times.

He walked up to the door and opened it up cautiously. After a quick glance around, he was surprised not to see Cyrus immediately. The quiet sobs, though, directed his attention to the corner, and Neville felt a pang of sadness seeing the little Hufflepuff boy sitting on the floor, face over his hands and trying (unsuccessfully) not to cry. He walked over slowly, trying not to startle Cyrus. He knelt down, placing his hand on his shoulder.

"Cyrus, it's ok, I'm right here," he whispered softly. The boy looked up, his lip quivered, and then launched himself into Neville's open arms, catching Neville by surprise and almost fell backwards on impact. As he wrapped his arms around Cyrus, the boy began to sob uncontrollably, great heaving sobs that wracked his body with grief. Neville simply held him tighter, oblivious to the fact that he hadn't said more than one sentence directly to him since the beginning of term. He simply knelt there and let Cyrus cry into his shoulder however long he minutes passed by slowly, but after a while the sobs became sporadic, followed by sniffles, and eventually Cyrus pulled back from Neville. He began wiping the tears from his splotchy face, not ready to talk. Neville simply knelt patiently, knowing the best thing he could do was to allow Cyrus the time he needed before speaking.

Eventually the boy pulled eye, his face splotchy red and eyes puffy from crying. He continued to look down, wiping the tears from cheeks. Neville moved to his side, sitting himself down and patiently waiting for Cyrus to speak first. He was taking slow, deep breaths, as though trying to gain control of himself before speaking.

"It's me mum," he said quietly, breaking the silence. "she's never hidden her disdain for the pureblood stereotype and even though it's hurt her business, someone decided to take it a step further." His lip quivered again, but he took yet another deep breath. "She owns a small restaurant in Diagon Alley and uses parsnips all the time, but someone slipped in what the healers think is water hemlock in her soup without her knowing. It smells similar to wild parsnip so she didn't notice. Since she always tastes her food before serving, she caught the full on effect and it was particularly potent."

Neville wracked his brain for information on water hemlock, but came short. It wasn't magical, that much he knew, and occasionally it was used in potions and was considered poisonous in an unaltered state.

"What exactly happened?" Neville asked.

"Seizures immediately, and by the time the healers got there, she had passed out. She hasn't woken up even though it happened over a day ago."

Neville wrapped his arm around Cyrus shoulder. His head hung low and whispered, "What if she never wakes up? Or worse, what if she does but won't remember me?"

Neville choked back his own tears. All of a sudden the childhood feelings of confusion and sadness about his parents came rushing back. He remembered those early visits, the healers trying to explain why his parents wouldn't talk to him, the confusion as to why this happened to them, the fear that he couldn't make his parents proud, the longing to be like everyone else he knew in the magical world.

"My mother is at St. Mungo's, too," Neville said slowly, hardly daring to believe he was bringing this up. Cyrus lifted his head up. "She was attacked, too, by hateful people."

Cyrus turned to face him. "You mean it's true? All those things the students whispered about at the beginning of the year?"

Neville shook his head. "Yeah. She can't even speak to anyone, that's how bad it is. At every visit, though, she always hands me a bubble gum wrapper." Cyrus gave him a confused look.

"She doesn't do that for anyone else, just me. She can't remember anything else, but she still remembers me." Neville's eyes began to glisten. He gave Cyrus a tight squeeze and then turned to look him in the eye. "I can't promise everything will work out perfectly, but if there's one thing I know, it's that the love of a parent can overcome anything," he said firmly.

Cyrus gave him a shaky smile. Neville got to his knees and stood up. "I just happen to know that Professor Sprout grows a wonderful assortment of daisies for the potion's store. I bet she'd lend you a few to help brighten your mother's day when she wakes up." He held out his hand which Cyrus readily took and lifted him off the floor. After gathering his things, they both headed out the doors and down to the greenhouses. Despite the horrible weather, Cyrus' mood was considerably brighter.

* * *

"Where have you been all day?" Ginny asked impatiently as Neville sat down for dinner in the Great Hall that evening. "And you look terrible," she added unimpressed.

Neville shrugged his shoulders. "You would, too, if you had been outside."

Ginny gave him a look he couldn't quite place. "What on earth possessed you to go outside on a day like this?" she responded.

"I was at the greenhouses," he said patiently, gathering things on to his plate. Ginny shook her head, her long red hair catching the eye of more than one Gryffindor boy in the process.

"I'm not even going to ask why," she replied with a hint of exasperation. "Listen, I was talking to a few of our…" she paused, glancing from side to side, "our study group members and some of them are getting antsy. It has been a few weeks since our last efforts."

Ginny practically jumped out of her seat when she heard the response come not from Neville, but from Pansy. "What do you mean, study group?" Her eyes squinted in suspicion, her face ready to break out into a smile if things were going the way she hoped they were. "I believe Headmaster Snape made himself quite clear a few weeks ago about the conduct of study groups."

Ginny gave her a cold look in return, keeping eye contact and not missing a beat. "It's just a group of us older Gryffindors, Pansy, nothing to get excited about." It was a good thing Pansy was having a staring match with Ginny because Neville was squirming in his seat.

"Last I checked, older Gryffindor students were just as susceptible to punishment as everybody else," she replied, "even if you and your pathetic friends feel otherwise."

"Last I checked," Ginny said slowly, "the common room wasn't off limits for groups larger than three. So some of us get together to work on Muggle Studies homework, big deal. Go find someone else to harass, you can't pin anything on me or Neville." Pansy kept Ginny's glare for a few moments longer, then huffed off in a bad mood. Ginny turned to Neville with a satisfied smirk.

"So, as I was saying," she began, but Neville interrupted her.

"Ginny, let's finish this conversation elsewhere. I think that was a little too close for comfort."

* * *

It turned out that Neville and Ginny's conversation waited a little longer than that night, as a few Gryffindor fifth years had managed to smuggle in some butterbeer as well as bribe a few of the house elves to bring in some junk food to the common room. The whole House was in the process of celebrating their successful mischief making. Ginny was mildly amused and Neville was surprised that they even pulled it off. It seemed so tame of a prank compared to legendary acts of Fred and George, but since the students had so little to celebrate these days, everyone went a little off the deep end with the festivities. Neville found himself being convinced by Ginny to join in the celebrations, leading to them sleeping in late on Sunday and being rather unproductive the entire day.

And so Monday came around with Neville up bright and early to start the week. Even though he didn't have Herbology until that afternoon, there was a particularly long essay due in Charms that Friday that Neville hadn't even considered important the week before. He planted himself at one of the empty tables in the common room (most everyone else, even sixth year NEWT students, had classes Monday morning), spreading out materials he might need. What he didn't expect was a copy of the Daily Prophet to land on top of everything. He looked up and saw Ginny taking a seat next to him.

"Look, I got to run to Charms in a few minutes, but we need to talk. Things are getting worse and worse outside of Hogwarts." Ginny pointed to the paper. The headlines were covered with words like missing, attacked, gone, destroyed. Interspersed were pro-Ministry of Magic snippets, though everyone in the pictures looked ragged and worn (the exception of Dolores Umbridge, who was sickeningly sweet smile dripped of satisfaction on the bottom left corner).

"I think our party on Saturday night showed just how much everyone needs an outlet, to know they're not alone. We really need to do something for the DA again."

"Ok, what have you got in mind?" asked Neville. Ginny broke out into a grin.

"Maybe we should paint the town a little bit?" She said mischievously as she stood up to leave. Neville gave her a blank look back.

"What does that even mean?" he responded but only received a wink in response as Ginny ducked out of the portrait hole. Shaking his head, he turned back to the work sprawled out in front of him.

* * *

"Ok, Luna's got the entrance covered," said Ginny excitedly. "She just sent word via coin and is ready to begin. The plan is to cover just the areas closest to our common rooms. Luna is out and about with our distraction, so Michael Corner is leading the Ravenclaws. Ernie is organizing the Hufflepuffs and you and I will cover the Gryffindors."

"I don't know, Ginny. Won't anyone notice the Slytherin corridor is untouched in all of this?" Neville asked.

"Of course they will, but no one expects Slytherins to participate in the fun," replied Ginny. She turned to the group of Gryffindors waiting expectantly. "Lavender, Parvati, Seamus, you go right and head down the stairs towards the basement. Go out as far as you feel comfortable and make your way back in. Fay and Rionach, go towards the Arithmancy classrooms, same instructions." Fay and Rionach nodded in understanding.

"Ginny," interrupted Neville, "are you sure we've thought this out? The last thing we need is for all of us to end up in detention for this."

Ginny gave a sigh of annoyance, clearly over the argument Neville was about to bring up. "Give it a rest, Neville. Luna's transfigured dog is the perfect way to keep our favorite death eaters pre-occupied. Besides, I may have had a word or two with Peeves and he may be inclined to draw their attention elsewhere."

Most of the group broke out into grins at this; however, Neville grew more concerned. Ginny turned to another group, "Romilda, Nigel, and Alice, head towards the transfiguration corridor. Demelza, you had better keep a close eye on Jimmy and Ritchie. Keep as close as you can to the common room and you two," she said, pointing at Jimmy and Ritchie, "you will abide by all calls made by Demelza. He's in charge, no questions asked. If you got a problem with that, you're staying put. Got it?" They murmured their agreement.

"What do you mean, you had a word or two with Peeves?" Neville brought up, not ready to let go of the argument. "Since when have we ever been able to rely on Peeves for anything at this school?"

Ginny smirked. "Let's just say that the Weasley name holds more street cred with Peeves than it used to. I merely suggested he might be interested in certain evening activities and we came to a mutual understanding of how to benefit each other. Nothing to be concerned about," she said mischievously. Neville shook his head disapprovingly, but there was nothing to be done.

Ginny started handing cans to the group. "Everyone know what their doing? Three statements per person, then back to the common room. This is a quick in and out prank, don't go overboard. The longer you're out in the halls, the more likely you'll get caught, so if I catch you still working on my way in, you're going to have your sorry rear dragged in here in the most uncomfortable manner. Got it?"

More nods and several people said yes. "Ok team, head out." After scrambling over the portrait hole in their assigned groups, Neville found himself trailing behind a determined Ginny. She was almost prancing with excitement, and it was perfectly clear that she had inherited the same trouble maker genes that Fred and George were so well known for.

Down they went, winding through staircases and around corridors. Neville tried to keep his huffing to a minimum while trying to keep up with Ginny's hurried pace. When she paused at the end of a corridor, Neville almost ran into her.

"Neville, watch it!" She whispered urgently. "This is as good a spot as any. I bet we'll catch a few glimpses of Luna's distraction from here."

Neville glanced around surprised, suddenly realizing they were near the Great Hall and the entrance. His eyes grew big.

"Ginny, are you stupid? The whole point of a distraction is to stay away to do our prank, not right in the middle of it so we can get caught!"

She waved it off, can in hand. "Oh please, we got this." She began spraying the wall across from them, spelling out Dumbledore's name. Shrugging his shoulders, he began spray painting his own message on the wall. They slowly worked their way back to the common room, stopping ever so often to spray paint the walls and receiving helpful comments from the portraits ("the trick to get it to flash is in the flick of the wrist, or so I've heard."). The walls were littered with messages like, "Dumbledore's Army, Still Recruiting," "We've Got Your Back, Harry!," "Retake Hogwarts," among others. Ginny kept looking over her shoulder expectantly, hoping to catch a glimpse of Luna's diversion. Neville did the same, but more out of concern than excitement. Much to Ginny's disappointment, however, their path back to the common room was exceptionally quiet, minus the brief run in with Professor Flitwick, who after being caught off guard, smiled appreciatively at the art on the walls and merely turned and whistled while walking in the other direction.

Once in the common room, Neville immediately took count of all Gryffindor DA members. Sure enough, everyone had followed instructions and returned to the common room well before Ginny and Neville returned. Ginny stood chattering with the rest about their prank while Neville reached for his DA galleon. Sure enough, he had missed the message from Luna asking if things were clear. He quickly responded yes and shuffled uncomfortably, waiting for Luna's confirmation that she was back in the hall. The DA members were all a flutter with excitement and Neville could tell they were antsy to get back out there and do more, which was the last thing he wanted them to do.

"Ok everyone," Neville said, loud enough to interrupt conversation but not quite loud enough to wake the younger students. "Listen, I can see that everyone's wired up and ready to do more, but right now we have to lay low. There's no telling what the repercussions might be, and we can't let anyone know we were involved. Got it?"

"Sure thing, boss," Rionach replied. Neville shook his head in annoyance. "But, what are we going to do with these?" She held up the magical spray paint cans. Neville looked at Ginny. They hadn't thought through this part of the plan.

"Anyone got any ideas?" Neville tossed out quietly.

"We could transfigure them into flower vases and put them around the common room," piped up Ritchie Coote.

"Bad idea, Ritchie. Ten bucks says that the Carrows will come snooping around and will notice tons of extra flower vases," replied Seamus.

"And even if it escaped the Carrow's notice, Snape is guaranteed to notice," said Romilda darkly. Everyone shuddered at the thought of Snape visiting the common room.

They continued talking, but Neville was distracted by the warm sensation in his pocket with his DA galleon. He pulled it out and read, "Back in common, safe and sound, pleasant all around." He breathed a big sigh of relief then tuned back into the conversation, which was split three ways on what to do with Ginny simply listening.

"Ritchie's idea to transfigure the cans might not be such a bad route to take," said Neville to Ginny. Ginny smiled, interested in Neville's idea. She whistled out loud to get everyone's mind off of arguing. They all turned and looked at her, confused.

"Here's what we're going to do," said Ginny. "Ritchie's on the right track with transfiguration," which led Ritchie to smirk in an all knowing manner, "we just need to tweak it a bit. Why don't we transfigure the cans into pieces of paper, or at least a paper material, and then burn them in the fireplace. No way the Carrows or Snape will think to check for that!" They all turned and looked at Neville expectantly, as though waiting for the final approval.

"Sounds good to me," he said, shrugging his shoulders. And so off they went, Ginny and the other seventh years working with the younger students to teach them a bit of new magic while Neville went off to alert the rest of the houses of the plan. After a bit of fun tossing in the transfigured cans (which burned to the original spray paint colors), Neville sent them off to bed to get a few hours of sleep before facing the rest of the school.


	13. Chapter 13: Unexpected Company

**I think this is my favorite chapter I've written so far. Enjoy! :)**

* * *

Much to the DA's pleasure, Snape and his crew was not able to pinpoint the source of all of the graffiti, though not due to any small effort on their part. Initially Headmaster Snape had demanded writing samples of each and every student so they could match the wall graffiti with the culprits. However, Snape made the mistake of announcing it in the evening after some serious deliberation with the Carrow siblings. That night someone had slipped out and charmed each of the graffiti posts to look the exact same in a handwriting that matched absolutely no one in the castle. Snape had been furious at this and the Carrows lashed out with more punishments than before across age groups and houses, including a few apathetic Slytherins in their efforts. Immediately Neville had gone to Ginny and Luna to see which of them had taken the initiative, but neither of them owned up to the act. In fact, Neville checked in with all of the DA members to see who was behind the change. The last thing he wanted was rogue members of the DA doing overly risky pranks like this and getting caught and being blamed for all acts committed in the last several months. He emphasized to everyone that they had to stand together, and that meant acting as a complete team and careful planning before any action is taken. However, every single DA member checked in via coin saying that none of the them were behind it. Neville, Luna, and Ginny debated it thoroughly and could only come up with one explanation: the teachers. Professor Flitwick had seen what the students were up to and as the Charms expert, this act would be right up his alley. No doubt McGonagall, Sprout, Slughorn, and other teachers were more than happy to keep watch as they loathed the Carrows and Professor Snape. Professor Sprout was even known to award house points if a student let out a particularly foul mouthed statement including the three if the Venomous Tentacula caught them by surprise.

And so the days past that week in a surprisingly quiet manner, other than the extra detentions everyone seemed to be acquiring. The surprising side effect, Neville noted, was that the students began to look up to him more and more. Despite his efforts to stay out of the limelight, he found himself full center with students beginning to come to him for advice, for encouragement, and for support, especially when it came to defying the Carrows. He tried to shrug it off, but there always seemed a few extra people around whenever he sat down at meals or lingered in the halls.

One of the most popular topics as of late was the upcoming Hogsmeade trip scheduled for the weekend before Halloween. The students (and faculty) were beyond surprised that the trips were still going as everyone had assumed they had been cancelled as a result of the DA mischief. Judging by the snarling comments of Snape towards crowded students in the hallways between classes and the complaints of Madame Pince that the library had become the social hot spot, it appeared all Snape wanted was a relatively quiet castle for a day. Couples were busy making plans, several fourth and fifth year Gryffindor boys were quietly discussing how to stock up on items for their more than questionable under the table trades, and much more. Neville was hoping to catch Hannah's eye and spend some time with her, but every time he worked up the courage to ask her out, Ernie was right there next to her, chatting away amiably. Discouraged and feeling slightly insecure, he kept telling himself he would try again the next time he saw her.

Monday rolled around once again in a rather uneventful manner. Following lunch in the Great Hall, most students congregated outside the Entrance Hall, justifying their social gathering as simply heading towards their next classes. Luna, Ginny, and Neville were sitting in a corner discussing how to get contraband Weasley Wizarding Wheezes' products into the castle (they were running low on decoy detonators and extendable ears) when the biggest surprise of the year waltzed in.

The great oak doors began to squeak, much to the alarm of the students of leaning up against it. After much scrambling to get beyond the group of students congregating to see what was going on, the doors opened dramatically. Neville and Ginny had stood up on the ground, standing on tiptoes to see over the students' heads, while Luna immediately bounced to the top of the bench they had been sitting on (and still needed to stand on her tiptoes, unfortunately). Breath was held by all, and slowly the gasps spread throughout the group.

Draco Malfoy sauntered through the entrance, flanked by two burly death eaters.

"What is he doing here?" Ginny hissed, eyes narrowing in displeasure. Draco had taken to lazily waving to the crowd, his smile a not quite genuine show of confidence. Whispers traveled throughout the crowd, only pierced by a loud, "DRACO!" from Pansy Parkinson, who bullied her way to the entrance and leaped into his unsuspecting arms, catching Malfoy off balance.

Neville simply shook his head. "I don't know, Ginny. His mum must have somehow convinced You-Know-Who to let him come back for some reason."

"Probably caused he's a useless git," replied Ginny under her breath.

"His family has been known to breed Nargle infestations," said Luna curiously. "Daddy exposed them in the latest edition of the Quibbler. Maybe You-Know-Who wanted Malfoy to bring them to Hogwarts as a threat."

"Whatever it is, I want to find out," responded Ginny. "We've got a set of extendable ears left, let's do a little snooping, shall we?"

"Better do it quick, looks like they are heading back to the common room," Neville said. Ginny winked, grabbed Neville's hand, and pulled him through the crowd, expertly working her way through without drawing attention to them. Luna followed behind them as light as a feather. They caught snippets of the conversation ahead of him between Malfoy, Pansy, Blaise, and the majority of the 7th year Slytherins.

"Pansy, please, I really can't walk with you hanging over me like that," Draco breathed menacingly to the over-excited girl. She seemed to pay him no mind, though, hanging on his arm as he turned to keep up a conversation with Blaise. "God, you're acting like I'm back from the dead." Despite his eye roll, she kept her simpering gaze on him.

They wandered closer to the basement and Neville began to get nervous about the lack of other students. Pretty soon it would be painfully obvious that he and his cohorts were following the group. However, an unexpected opening presented itself.

"Hold up, I really gotta use the bathroom. You guys go ahead," Draco said in a nonchalant voice.

Pansy's bottom lip broke into a pout. "We're almost to the common room, Draco. You just got here, you can't leave just yet."

Draco blew out a huge sigh, "Pansy, don't be so pathetic. I'm just going to the bathroom, you can spare me for five minutes." He pulled away from her abruptly and forced his way into the boy's lavatory before she could respond. With a stamp of her foot, she spun away from the door and lead the group back to the common, minus Blaise and Theodore Nott.

Ginny grabbed the extendable ear out of her pocket while rounding the corner. "Hurry," she whispered, "I don't want to miss a thing." And so they slid the ear under the door and dashed into a closet. Luna did a little charm to make the visible part of the ear in the hallway invisible and received a beaming look of appreciation from Ginny.

"...missed the hint," finished Blaise.

"Crabbe and Goyle couldn't take a hint even if a chocolate cupcake danced naked in front of them," Malfoy drawled and the two other boys snickered. "Then again, food is about the only thing that can motivate those two," he said as an aside.

"Might want to drop Pansy's name in with those two," said Blaise. "Turns out she's not taking the hint about you not being interested. Why don't you just tell her you're done and move on with it?"

"I like the attention," replied Draco lazily. Ginny snorted at this and Luna hushed her. "who knows, maybe I'm just waiting until something better comes along."

"I've seen the way you look at Daphne's little sister," Blaise responded. "I'd say she's coming along nicely, just another year or so and she'll really start busting buttons with that…"

Blaise suddenly stopped speaking mid-sentence, confusing the group hiding in the closet.

"So, what's going on, Draco? Why are you here all of a sudden and not at the manor?" Nott asked curiously, finally breaking the silence. "After all, your family isn't exactly in the best standing with the Dark Lord at the moment.

A long, icy pause ensued. Even Neville, Luna, and Ginny held their breaths even though they weren't in the room of the conversation.

"I suppose your information would be second hand, Theodore, as your father hasn't exactly been in the Dark Lord's confidence for several years now. Even I have personally attended meetings he hasn't been invited to," Malfoy replied with a sneer. "And if I'm being invited to such meetings then one would assume my family's standing is much more secure than other pureblood families."

Another pause. "My apologies, Draco," Nott said rather timidly. "I suppose I should pay closer attention to my sources."

"But you haven't answered the question Ted asked, Draco," Blaise interrupted. "What changed so that you could be here?"

Neville could almost imagine the sly smile on Malfoy's face. "Oh, it took some persuading on my mother's part, but with the Carrows and Snape bungling up things with the students, the Dark Lord thought it might be worthwhile to have someone who could observe from a different perspective. After all, I can see exactly what the teachers are saying to the students and eavesdrop on what the students are already discussing."

"Because people are going to be so open with you around," Blaise said, dripping in sarcasm.

"I'll get more done than you have, and you're head boy," Malfoy shot back.

"Go right ahead. I'm more than happy to simply sit on the sidelines and let others do the work for me," Blaise replied.

"There's no glory in that," said Malfoy.

"And no chance of failure," quipped Blaise. "Don't worry, I know how to play my cards right."

The group suddenly heard the creaking of the door and the boys' voices grew farther and farther out. Neville turned to the girls.

"I guess this means we're going to have to watch our steps more, with Malfoy sniffing around for dirt."

"Come on, he can't be any worse than Pansy," replied Ginny, opening the closet door slightly to peak outside. "Coast's clear," she said as she opened the door all the way open.

"All the same, I don't like the idea of another set of eyes and ears keeping tabs on us, even if it is just Malfoy."

* * *

The next few days passed much like the days before, with the exception of Malfoy keeping a close eye on Neville. In fact, Malfoy's gaze seemed to be constantly fixed on Neville, usually accompanied by a frown or a scowl. Neville tried to shrug it off and focus on whomever was asking for his attention at that moment, but he felt like the hairs on the back of his head were constantly raised because of the ever present gaze of Malfoy.

On Wednesday afternoon Ginny and Neville sat in the back of library working on their joint Muggle Studies project while waiting for Luna to return from Care of Magical Creatures. Now that the entire class had taken Neville's lead on purposely failing, Alecto had taken to assigning more and more homework in an attempt to make the Gryffindor lives as miserable as possible. Anyone who did not complete the homework was punished with detentions. As a result, the class had taken to having a competition on who could receive the lowest score possible. Neville was in the lead with 3 assignments but Lavender was giving him a good run for his money. She seemed to know exactly how to irritate Alecto with her essays and derived great pleasure in being as obnoxious as possible in her writing.

The two of them were discussing the finer details of how describe muggle trash collecting as a more satisfying career choice than being a death eater in their essay when Luna floated over to them her smile going from ear to ear. Neville paused from his writing and looked up at her.

"You seem awfully happy about something. What's up?" Luna, however, simply shrugged her shoulders and handed Ginny a piece of folded parchment. She unfolded it and Ginny began to grin almost as broadly as Luna.

"This is fantastic, Luna!" Ginny beamed. "I bet you're so excited."

"I really am," Luna replied.

"So, are you going to tell me what this is all about?" Neville chimed in. Luna turned to him, smiling sweetly.

"No," she said innocently while sitting was a pause that was eventually broken by Neville's sigh.

"Fine, let's talk about something I can be a part of."

"Why would anyone want to include you, Longbottom?" drawled out an unexpected voice. The three turned and scowled at Malfoy.

"If it were up to me," he continued, "a squib like you wouldn't even be allowed in the castle along with the rest of the mud that made it's way in. I suppose you could be like Filch and maybe do a small part at the school. I would say you would fit in nicely with the house elves in the kitchens, but even they seem capable of producing more magic than you."

Ginny got up, ready to spit fire right back at Malfoy, but Neville held up his hand.

"What's this? Are you the ring leader of the misfits and muggle lovers now? Tell me you couldn't find a better replacement for Harry Potter than Neville Longbottom!"

Neville stood up, locked eyes with Malfoy, and slowly walked around the table. Malfoy took an unconscious step back when Neville reached him.

"I'll show you exactly what I'm capable of, Malfoy," he said slowly, pulling his wand to his side. "I used to be afraid of you, but you're just a little fish in a big pond these days," he said, inching closer to Malfoy. "It's time for you to understand your place at Hogwarts, death eater." He paused, and the library was silent.

"Entrance Hall, ten minutes. Ginny's my second." And at that, Neville walked out of the room confidently and in control, leaving everyone's mouth open who had heard the exchange. Malfoy blustered for a second, then scrambled out to find a second in his wizard's duel.

Ginny and Luna also bounded out of the library to find Neville, though they didn't see him until they reached the entrance hall. Neville stood there like a pillar of stone, daunting and powerful. Ginny stopped and Luna paused a few paces ahead of her. They both had always known Neville to be strong and had done their best to share that vision with others, but in this moment, everything they knew was fully realized. They passed by students who hung around staircases and the hallways, all eyes on Neville, who, for the first time in public, was showing everyone exactly why he was placed in Gryffindor.

Ginny and Luna took their place behind him, and not long after a gang of Slytherins emerged from a lower staircase, Malfoy in the lead. They all stopped except for Malfoy, who entered the broad gap in the hallway to face his challenger.

"Crabbe is my second," he declared for all to hear. "Ready for your arse to be handed to you, Longbottom?"

Neville unfolded his arms, gave a slight bow in the traditional dueling fashion, not uttering a single word. Malfoy followed his lead, but stood up abruptly and yelled, "Stupefy!"

Neville countered immediately with a shield charm and rolled to his right, bringing his wand up to his face. "Wingardium Leviosa!" he shouted, pointing at the torch loosely held on the wall behind Malfoy. Malfoy turned so one side was facing Neville, the other facing the floating torch which Neville began to move over Malfoy's head.

"Defodio!" shouted Neville and the torch immediately exploded and small bits of fire began falling all around Malfoy, who barely had enough time to conjure a shield charm before the fire landed on his hair. Cheers went up around the entrance hall, all possible areas teeming with students excited to watch.

Neville aimed a leg locker curse at Malfoy's unprotected knees (as Malfoy's shield charm was directed above him), but he somersaulted out of the range of the fire while managing to wield his shield charm above him like an umbrella. His face was sweaty and he practically growled out, "Sectum Sempra!"

Neville managed to jump to the side and avoid the onset of the curse as Malfoy's aim was off balance from the somersault, however, the curse nicked him in the bicep. Neville barely noticed the blood coming from the gash, simply gritting his teeth and sending out a disarming spell, which Malfoy easily parried and then jumped behind a statue. Neville circled around and once he caught a glimpse of Malfoy, he cried out, "Alarte Ascendare!"

Malfoy came shooting out from behind the statue and landed in the middle of the hall, eyes wide in surprise and in concern. It began to dawn on him that he was not going to win this battle and everyone could see it in his eyes. Neville stood tall and triumphant, raising his wand to stun Malfoy and end the duel.

However, Malfoy had other ideas, and before Neville could give his spell, he shut his eyes tight and moved his wand with speaking a word. Suddenly the doors of the entrance burst open and several dementors glided inside. The crowds screamed and Neville took a step back in confusion. He immediately turned his back to Malfoy and focused on the real problem. He ran in front of the staircase and had several unsuccessful attempts at conjuring a patronus.

"Happier, Neville!" cried Luna from the staircase while a silver hair erupted from her wand and bounded toward the dementor heading towards the basement levels.

Neville wracked his brain for any happy memory, but the pressure of seeing the dementors so close to the other students and the depressing funk that seized over him felt like too much. A horse stampeded next to him, charging down the dementor he had thought to overtake. Several other patronuses were floating around, rounding up the dementors and forcing them back outside while the casters made their way to the door. Neville cast his wand and before he said anything the great oak doors immediately slammed shut. He slumped slightly forward, worn out and tired from his duel.

Out of nowhere they heard Malfoy begin to cry, "Sectum…

"ENOUGH!" shouted Professor McGonagall. She cast a magical barrier between Neville and Malfoy as she raced down the stairs, her eyes blazing in a cold fury.

"Are you mad?" She snapped at Neville. "Twenty points from Gryffindor for dueling in the hallways." She spun around before Neville had a chance to react. "And you, Mr. Malfoy, you are back for less than a week and already wreaking havoc. Twenty points from Slytherin for engaging in the duel!" She then turned to the crowd, but Neville was able to catch her eye just before. There was more than just anger there, there was fear.

Ginny began to speak up loudly, but Neville jabbed her in the side with his elbow a little more harshly than he intended. McGonagall was busy shouting instructions for everyone to leave the premises immediately and motivating them to move quickly to notice the three of them behind her. Students scrambled to leave the scene.

"The last thing the three of you need is additional punishment," she said carefully. "You better leave now before someone else takes these things into their own hands."

Nodding in understanding, Neville, Ginny, and Luna dashed up the stairs. When they were a significant distance from the entrance, Ginny called them to stop.

"There's no way we can let Malfoy think he got the better of us," she said, her voice seething with rage. "Let's get the DA together and put him in his place."

Neville shook his head. "Ginny, things are going to be really tense around the castle. Snape and his crew are going to be looking for any rule breaking to crack down on, and they are going to come down hard."

"Then it's time we consulted with the experts," replied Ginny. "I'll send word to Diagon Alley and see if Fred and George can meet us in Hogsmeade this weekend. It's time we took this to the next level."


	14. Chapter 14: Hogsmeade

**Hi everyone! Sorry it's been so long, I've been facing some unexpected medical issues this month. Let's just say that 2015 has been the worst start I've ever had to a new year. So many of you, though, have followed and favorited the story in its absence, and I can't tell you how much that means to me. Everyone needs a few rays of sunshine on their cloudy days, and your comments, follows, and favorites did just that for me this past month. **

**Just as a note, I say I follow canon for the story, but one of the reviewers (thanks, TheRavenclawGem) ****pointed out something Neville says about finding Luna and telling her that he loves her before the Battle of Hogwarts. I'm like 99% positive that came from the movies, not the books, and for this story all of the background content comes from the books (Call me a purist snob, but the movies never stuck with me like the books did). I feel like the books give it a bit of wiggle room on the topic since Neville didn't really act differently towards Luna in the seventh book like he had in earlier books, so I took the liberty of saying he was over his crush on Luna and was able to notice Hannah and that's where their relationship began. I'll change the description to say that it follows strictly the books, not the entire canon, since I guess I'm not exactly following canon by not following the movies.**

**Once again, I'll try and get back on track. One day we will see the end of this story and I am really antsy to get to the Battle of Hogwarts, myself. But, we're still in the third week of October in the story, so I better get writing!**

* * *

Neville stood in a long line of students waiting to pass through the large oak doors protecting the school, anxiously fidgeting with his scarf and looking a bit downtrodden. Everybody around him was chatting merrily, including Hannah Abbot and Ernie Mcmillan, who were standing within his sight a ways up the line.

"Why didn't you just ask her out?" asked Ginny after noticing Neville's constant stare on Hannah. "Everyone knows she would have said yes."

Neville shrugged his shoulders in reply. "Really, Neville?" said Ginny. "That's your response?"

He felt the slight burn of embarrassment and before he even realized what he was saying, he quipped, "Look who's talking. Remind me again how many years it was before you could finally act normal around Harry?"

Ginny looked taken aback, her face unsure. Embarrassment was replaced with guilt and it was written all over Neville's face as they shuffled forward. "Ginny, I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have said…" but he was interrupted by Ginny's laughter as she broke out into a huge smile.

"Goodness Neville, I think I've been a bad influence on you. That's kind of response is usually my MO. You're the nice one!" She stopped laughing, but still held a smile. "You may have a point, but if your story ends up anything like mine, you'll be in good shape."

"Having Voldemort hunting you down as his most dangerous enemy hardly seems an ideal end to a story," replied Luna offhandedly, her eyes never leaving the copy of the Quibbler she was reading. Both Neville and Ginny stopped dead in their tracks, staring at Luna openly. Luna, however, noticed none of this and merely continued to step forward with the crowd, completely absorbed in her magazine.

"Luna," Ginny said carefully, "you do realize what you just said."

She finally looked up from her magazine, confused. "What? I wouldn't fancy being Harry right now, that doesn't seem all that surprising," but Ginny interrupted her with a wave of her hand.

"Not that," Ginny replied. "You said… you said You-Know-Who's name out loud for everyone to hear."

Luna's face never changed, leading to an uncomfortable silence between the three of them, the weight of it expounded by the fact they were drawing closer to the dementors at the front entrance. After taking more steps forward in line, Luna broke the silence and stated, "Harry says it because he's not afraid. I'm not afraid,either, and I chose to follow Harry's lead."

By this time the group was mere steps away from the dementors when a voice called out over the crowd, "One of you called out the Dark Lord's name, and I want to know who." The entire crowd turned and saw Amycus Carrow standing on one of the balconies over the Entrance Hall. Silence spread quickly over the group, not a whisper to be heard. Amycus glared menacingly over the crowd, which continued its slow crawl towards the door. The dementors seemed not to take notice of the interruption, and people at the front were eager to get through the doors and out of the castle especially with the appearance of the Carrow brother.

"Ok, little brat," growled Amycus, "you won't hide for long. Just wait until I find you." He left the words hanging, balancing the line between terrifying thoughts and empty threats. The line continued forward, still completely silent.

"Oh shove off, Carrow," a male student said loudly, hidden among the crowd. Small bursts of giggles fluttered through the line, most trying to stifle their laughter unsuccessfully.

"It's not like you can actually prove which one of us said it," replied another voice, this time a younger female student. She was followed by several murmurs of agreement.

Amycus looked as though he would tear his hair out. "How dare any of you challenge me!" He began screeching out profanities and detailing horrendous detentions against those who spoke up, causing the students to step back, but the death eater never made a step forward. In the midst of all this, Amycus completely missed the arrival of Filch, who shuffled uncomfortably behind the Carrow brother. Filch must have slowly been trying to catch his attention, because Amycus finally caught on. He whirled on Filch, eyes menacing.

"WHAT?" He bellowed. "CAN'T YOU SEE I'M IN THE MIDDLE OF SOMETHING!"

Filch took a step back and looked as though he murmured something in reply. Neville and the group were interested but much too far away to catch any of the conversation. After a brief lapse, Amycus took one long look over the crowd and his eyes met Neville, who had finally reached the front. Neville quickly turned, hoping he didn't look guilty, and went to face the dementors at the entrance.

* * *

The excitement of leaving the castle and entering Hogsmeade was quickly dampened upon their approach to the town itself. Not much had changed since last year, but it was still a shock to see. Witches and wizards all hurried in pairs, eyes forward and heads down. Ministry warnings and wanted posters covered the windows of the shops. Illegitimate carts had sprung up everywhere, much like Diagon Alley in London. Still, the shopkeepers looked out of the doors upon hearing the students, their looks a mixture of trepidation and hope. Though the crowd of students wasn't quite so energetic at seeing the state of things in their beloved village, they all breathed a sigh of relief to be out of the glaring eyesight of Snape and the Carrows.

Ginny lead the way into the Three Broomsticks and all three were grateful to be out of the damp, bleak weather that hung around outside. The pub was filled with light and students who had the same idea to warm up a bit before going out on their errands. Though packed, the only people in the pub were students themselves. Few locals were spotted (not that Neville had ever noticed them on his previous trips). Eventually they worked their way to an unoccupied corner table. Ginny and Neville sat down and Luna simply drifted to the bar with the ease. Neville was startled, however, to find Luna already gone as he had been busy fiddling with his coat and gloves before sitting down.

"Wait, Luna didn't even ask what we wanted," Neville protested, eyes fixed on Luna who had managed to catch Madame Rosmerta's attention with relative ease.

"When do we ever get anything other than butterbeer?" Ginny replied, stating the obvious. Neville simply shrugged his shoulders and sat down with his back to the wall, giving him a good view of the entire pub. He noted with a concerned look that Hannah and Ernie were nowhere to be seen. Ginny also looked out among the crowd barely containing her excitement.

"Do you think Fred and George are here already?" Neville asked Ginny.

"Probably, but they're meeting with someone to see if they can get a better offer on Zonko's empty premises."

"Do you think they'll take it this time?"

"It would have to be a really good offer. They're doing really well in spite of everything, but I don't know if they're doing well enough to expand just yet. Besides, it's all just an excuse to be here today. They didn't want it to look like they came to Hogsmeade just because I'm here."

And so they chatted amiably about the ideas Fred and George might have in store for them. Luna eventually rejoined them, placing mugs of steaming hot chocolate in front of the three of them (earning Ginny a strong glare from Neville who just returned it with a sheepish grin). When the conversation waned, Luna surprised the others by pulling a set of exploding snap cards out of her bag. After several rounds Neville quickly realized he was outmatched, but he was still absorbed in the game as Ginny's competitive streak got the better of her. The cards kept flying and the explosions should have distracted the two of them, but both Luna and Ginny were entirely immersed in their desire to win. Admittedly, Ginny was getting more and more worked up while Luna smiled absentmindedly as she placed down her cards. Neville could hardly keep up with the score, knowing they were tied, when finally Luna placed down the game winning card and the entire stack blew up in Ginny's face, leaving black scorch marks on her cheeks and forehead as she had been leaning a little too closely to the deck.

"Merlin's balls, Luna, I could have had you if…" Ginny began, but was interrupted in the middle.

"Tut tut, Ginny. Such language unbecoming of a young lady such as yourself."

"It's a wonder how you manage to have so many gentlemen callers with a tongue like that."

Ginny looked up expectantly, grinning of ear to ear. Fred and George stood behind Neville, dressed in matching wizarding robes of a shocking red, clearly clashing their dragon scale boots and bright Weasley hair. In less than a moment Ginny had leapt out of her seat and was attempting to hug both Fred and George at the same time. The twins were smiling just as much as Ginny, the look of relief palpable on their faces. Eventually they got around to shaking Neville's hand and giving Luna a noticeable nod across the table (which she returned with a dreamy smile of her own) and then pulled up two chairs from local tables.

"So, we hear you're in need of consultants…" Fred began.

"Advisors of sorts…" interjected George.

"Masterminds, actually…"

"..on a particular side project to help further your wizarding education?" George finished for the two of them.

Ginny gave them a small but devilish grin. As she sat back in her chair, leaning nonchalantly towards the window and gave the twins a look of potential interest, Neville couldn't help but notice why Ginny had, as Fred and George so aptly noted, gentlemen callers at all times. Even in the most comfortable of situations like a conversation with her twin brothers she knew how to add a little bit of excitement and mystery to her body language. Neville was just happy to watch the exchange in silence, but couldn't help but wonder if he would have had a similarly playful relationship with a sibling.

"Before we offer any advice, however," said Fred, "we need a little background information. Let's see how you've handled things now that the legends are gone."

At this, Ginny leaned forward and grinned mischievously. "I suppose I've made you proud. I always preferred your method of learning over Percy's, personally." She then began to relate everything that had happened. Fred and George, as usual, were an excellent audience, oh-ing and ah-ing dramatically at all the right places. An added bonus were the moments where the twins were genuinely impressed.

"Color changing spray paint, eh? That's not a bad idea…" murmured George to Fred during the retelling of the spray paint incident.

"Only if we get the generic handwriting attached to it. Might be something worth pursuing.." Fred replied under his breath, beginning to lost in his thoughts. Ginny knew she had to reclaim their attention or they would be off planning their next products.

"Hem hem…" she said in her best Umbridge voice, making the twins (and Neville) jump slightly in their seats. Luna and Ginny started laughing.

"Sorry Gin," apologized Fred. "Keep going."

And so Ginny caught the two up on everything that had occurred, that is, with the occasional comment from Luna and Neville. At the end she sat back, patiently waiting for Fred and George to be the first to speak.

"Not bad," Fred said thoughtfully after a slight pause. "Maybe not as ambitious as our legacy, but not a bad follow up." Ginny stuck her tongue out in response.

"Now comes the fun part. What can we do to up your game?" said George. "I'm assuming you're clever enough to be able to navigate the halls after hours. Did Harry give you the map? That will make planning that much easier."

George's question was met by blank stares from all three Hogwarts students. George gave them a confused look back, turning to Fred.

"You don't think Harry kept it, do you?" George said to Fred.

"I don't know why he would need it, though. It's not like he can take vacations to visit Hogwarts."

"What are you two going on about?" Ginny interrupted. "What map?"

George started to fidget under Ginny's glare, once again looking like her mother while scolding the twins for one thing or another. Fred finally jumped in.

"Don't worry about it, Ginny. You can ask Harry when you see him next." Ginny leaned forward, looking at him mutinously and was about to give Fred a piece of her mind when Luna placed a hand on her arm and shook her head. With a huff she sat back in her seat, looking out the side window and refusing to speak. Neville gave a small cough.

"So what can you do to help?" said Neville. "Do you have anything at your joke shop that will give us a leg up?"

"Probably," started Fred, but he never finished his sentence, just looked at George who kept his gaze. For a moment, Neville couldn't help but wonder if they had some sort of telepathic ability to communicate with each other. He gave a slight chuckle and realized he was just being ridiculous.

"Here's the thing," Fred started again. "our products aren't exactly … permitted at Hogwarts."

"That shouldn't be an issue. I see your stuff all the time. Everyone has access to it."

"True, we do have a small supply line set up for Hogwarts. I think those fifth year Gryffindor boys running the black market are even slightly better than we were at getting contraband items to the castle ("Though their pranks are shamefully basic," George added as an aside.) But the stuff that will really come in handy are things you don't see on a regular basis. If you use something that screams our Wheezes product, who do you think those death eater teachers are going to blame?" Fred motioned to Ginny with an open hand.

"And I imagine that Ginny has no intention of flying the coup after this performance," George added.

"Then you should pick a prototype you're working on," interrupted Ginny irritably. "You can't tell me you don't have any prototypes waiting for testing."

George looked up thoughtfully. "That could be an option," he admitted. He turned to Fred.

"What about Bait 'n Switch?" George said.

"Too tame." Fred replied. "It needs a better bang. Weather in a bottle? The next edition?"

"Too unstable. Remember how the lightning kept striking you every time you entered the testing room for three weeks?"

"God that hurt. How about the Magical Whoopie cushion?"

"Really, a muggle prank?"

"Good point. What about in the explosions department?"

They paused, looking at each other.

"Nope," said George,

"No way those are ready," Fred said at the same time. They both sat in their seats, deep in thought. Only a few moments passed, however, when Fred got a huge grin on his face. George gave him a confused look, then broke out into an excited smile as well.

"Post testing products!" said George excitedly.

"We've got about twenty of the best item ready to go," responded Fred. "It's flashy and guaranteed to make a statement."

Ginny replaced her sour attitude with interest. "Alright, I'm in, what is it?"

"BLIBBERING HUMDINGER!" shouted Luna excitedly, jumping to her feet. "RIGHT THERE!"

The entire pub went silent as everyone gawked at Luna in the corner, standing tall and pointing over to the far right corner. Neville looked around where she was pointing, but all he could see was that Malfoy, who had somehow found his way a table away from their own, had fallen over backward in surprise of the shout, leading to several guffaws in the immediate vicinity. Eventually people began muttering about the disruption and went back to their own conversations. Smiling, Luna sat down.

"When did Malfoy end up so close to our table? Serves him right for falling over backwards over the humdinger." Neville grumbled. The comment caught Fred and George's attention and they realized exactly what was going on.

"Malfoy always was a sleazy git," muttered Fred.

"Terrible eavesdropper, too. Shameful example to the rest of the trouble makers at Hogwarts," said George.

Fred turned round to face Ginny. "Ginny, your robes really are starting to show just how second hand they are. Didn't we promise to buy you some new robes this trip?" He elbowed George.

"What's a visit from your rich twin brothers without a little shopping excursion?" responded George. They both grinned and gave her a look that told her to play along. Ginny caught on immediately.

"I am a sucker for a good sale," Ginny began, "and I think Madame Malkin's has a really nice set of school robes featured for the day to entice the students in. Shall we go?" Ginny stood up, gathering her things.

"Neville, Luna, I'll see you at the castle. Luna, I'll let you know if I get something…. special from the twins that I want your opinion on." And before Neville realized it, Ginny was out the door with Fred and George.

"I guess that means our meeting is over." Neville said, eyeing his empty cup. There was an awkward pause. "Do you, uh, want to go do something?"

Luna stood up with her things. "Sure. I was going over to the Shrieking Shack to check for some dirigible plums. One of dad's readers sent in a tip saying there was a new growth over there."

The Shrieking Shack was the last place Neville wanted to go on a dreary day like this. He never was a big fan of ghosts, and this close to Halloween…. He simply shook his head.

"Maybe next time, Luna," Neville replied. Luna shrugged her shoulders, gave Neville a distant smile, and skipped to the door, leaving Neville alone. He glanced over at Malfoy, who was in an animated conversation with Blaise and a few other Slytherin boys. Now was as good as ever to leave.

When he opened the door, he was greeted with a damp welcome from the air outside. It threatened to rain at any moment and the last thing Neville wanted to do was to walk back to the castle soaking wet and alone. He began walking to the castle, slightly downhearted to be returning so soon when he heard a voice shout out. He kept going but he thought he heard his name muffled in the yell, so he turned. Heading into the Three Broomsticks were Susan Bones, Ernie Macmillan, and Hannah, who gave him a wave. He began heading back in the direction he came, his breaking into a smile.

"Neville, it's great to see you!" Hannah said, smiling. "Have you already stopped in the Three Broomsticks? Everything's so damp we thought we'd duck inside for a bit."

"Yeah, I was just walking out, actually. I've been there all morning" Neville replied. Hannah's smile drooped ever so slightly.

"Oh," she replied. "I didn't realize that." There was a bit of a lull has Hannah played with her gloves. Ernie was just about to pull the door open.

"Hannah," Susan interjected, "you forget your errand!"

Hannah looked at her confused.

"Your promised to pick up some pepper imps, remember? For Sheila? She's stuck in the castle with her cold and asked you to run the errand for

"What errand? Hannah never mentioned it to me," Ernie called from the door, which he was stuck holding because of the people coming in and out at that exact moment.

"Hannah told me while you were taking forever trying to find your hat and gloves," called out Susan over her shoulder. Hannah picked up on the hint.

"I can't believe I almost forgot! Neville, could you go with me to pick them up? I always have the hardest time navigating the crowds." Neville smiled, and with a quick agreement they were off to enjoy some time alone.

* * *

**Super super quick side note: Does anyone know if Ginny knew about the Marauder's Map before the start of Deathly Hallows? I've been wracking my brain and I don't think she did, but I'm not positive. If you could point to me to that information in the books if Ginny does know, I'd be ever so grateful!**


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